Moment of Weakness
by heatqueen
Summary: Updated Summary. 'Fiyero hit me.' For Galinda, one weak moment causes an onset of rumours that lead to a fallen reputation and a difficult line of questioning of herself. 'I used magic.' For Elphaba, one drastic incident causes dire consequences that could change her life forever. Meanwhile the two girls are slowly falling in love. Gelphie. Shiz-verse.
1. Chapter 1

**Moment of Weakness**

It took one weak moment to change everything.

Prior to it, I was accustomed to the too-bright eyes radiating cheeriness from Galinda's angelic face, only for them to catch sight of my green skin, after which her forehead would twist into a petulant frown as she reeled through a list of green-related insults in her head. I no longer jolted awake when she bumbled back into our room at too late (early) hours of night (morning – Lurline knows what she did in all of that time), knocking over various objects scattered around her desk, bed and floor space as she failed to remember that I was sleeping. Nor did I bother correcting the flawed logic of her blonde ramblings, or grumble at her shrieks of displeasure when her appearance was supposedly less than satisfactory (Has she seen me, for goodness' sake? I'm green!).

We had come a long way from our loathing of each other at the beginning of term. The seemingly impossible task of sharing a room with the beautiful, popular, good Miss Galinda had fallen within my grasp once I had given into her infuriating quirks. By all means we were not friends, nor did I have any inclination to try to be one to her. She placed herself with society girls as rich as she was, if not more so. Sometimes she appeared to struggle to keep up with them: I once spotted her eyeing up an expensive diamond-infused bracelet on Shenshen's wrist with a longing expression pulsing from those wide, blue eyes. Then she glanced down at the simple gold band around her own wrist as though the world had ended.

I might call her an acquaintance if I was feeling kind. We knew each other only by association – that is what acquaintances are, right? After all, there was the occasional moment when she would pause in what she was doing, twist a strand of hair around her finger, turn to me and ask me a question of value. I remember:

_Isn't it funny how deity is passé, yet the ideas and attributes of deity linger?_

For a second only I could have been talking to a scholar, or at least a girl who paid attention to her lessons. But that particular door only opened fleetingly and infrequently before slamming back shut to be masked with the face of a dim, pretentious girl who believed that thinking was beyond her.

I may have gotten through to her eventually, but then the infuriating, brainless Fiyero showed up and captured her heart. In the aftermath, her genuine moments became more infrequent and I decided that I had completely lost her to the hands of the upper-class society and all of their airs and flares and pretences. The girls drooled over Fiyero, of course, though the endless stream of gossip about his good looks and charming wit and their sighs of attraction flew over my head. They did little more than irritate me. Of course, Miss Galinda would return to our room, her features graced with a lovey-dovey smile, and she would chatter endlessly about the Winkie Prince, unaware that I ignored her entirely, in favour of my books.

One weak moment. That's all it took.

In fact, I was already asleep and would have remained so if Galinda had not been particularly loud on this particular entrance to our room. I woke to the sound of a loud yelp followed by Galinda smacking one hand over her mouth, snivelling, as though she was trying to choke back a sob. Snapping one eye open I glared in her direction and then remembered that the room was dark and she wouldn't be able to see it.

Instead I said, in a gravelly tone, 'Miss Galinda, you are disturbing me from sleep. Will you please be quiet so that I can continue to do so?'

I expected a cutting response, but as the seconds passed and Galinda said nothing, my brow furrowed in confusion. I watched her silhouette cross the room to her bed on the other side. Her shoulders were hunched and her hair was not in its usual, perfect up-do.

'Miss Galinda?' I questioned.

Her tone, when she replied, was soft and girlish and accompanied by sniffles.

'Miss Elphaba, are you really so insensitive that when your own roommate walks in crying you care more about your beauty sleep?'

I sighed and got out of bed. It must be serious if no green vegetable comments were included. I switched on my bedside lamp and looked over at Galinda who was leaning against her bed with one hand on her face and the other hanging limply by her side. As I looked more closely my jaw dropped when I realised what she was covering up.

'Sweet Oz, you're injured!' I hurried to her side. 'Miss Galinda, who did this to you?'

She turned her face away and shook her head. She looked quite unlike the high-maintenance Galinda that I was used to. Her usual poise had been replaced by a vulnerability I had never seen from her before. The lack of acknowledgement of mascara running down her face was testament to the severity of the situation. I felt panic welling up inside of me.

'Miss Galinda, I need you to tell me what happened,' I said, more softly.

She let out a sob and black-tinted tears trickled down her cheeks. I went to the bathroom to get her some tissues, which she took and hurriedly wiped her face with them.

'How can I be letting you of all people see me like this?' she said, with only a little more of her usual feistiness. 'Lurline only knows, I am the ugliest girl in all of Oz.'

'Funny, I thought that was me,' I quipped.

'Fiyero hit me.'

I stared at her. Speechless.

'He wanted his way with me and I said no.'

My body was trembling. I bit down my anger.

'He said I was a pretty girl, just like all the rest of them.'

'The rest of whom?' I interrupted.

Galinda shook her head.

'I don't know,' she whispered, 'but I didn't let him. I ran.'

I reached out to hug her. She buried her dainty, bruised face into my shoulder and let out several loud, unpleasant, heaving sobs. I rubbed her back and eventually she quietened down into silent tears and a few sniffles and wimpers.

'You need to get that treated, Miss Galinda,' I said.

She shook her head.

'Yes, you do. I insist. You need to come down to the infirmary with me now, and get that looked at. You don't have to tell them anything if you don't want to, just let them patch you up. Okay?'

Miss Galinda pulled away from me, nodded, and dried her tears with the remaining tissue. Her once pale face was red and blotchy. The bruise fell on her right cheekbone and extended down towards her jaw. It was ugly and purple in colour and had dots of blood spread across the surface.

I took one dainty hand in my long, green one. I was surprised when, instead of protesting, she clutched her fingers around my palm as though she couldn't bear to let go of me. I led her out of the room and down the empty corridor, forgetting that my legs were longer and that I walked much faster than her. I soon realised she was dragging behind me. Sighing in frustration I slowed my pace and walked the rest of the way in a too-slow stroll. She followed me, always one pace behind and trembling the whole way.

Eventually we arrived and pressed the buzzer for night time service.

As the nurse fussed over Galinda's wound I leaned against the wall and stifled several very well-formed sarcastic comments pertaining to my tiredness and the ridiculous hour of morning. There was no real use in getting annoyed with Galinda when Fiyero was to blame, but that didn't temper the nagging notion that I would be taking a test tomorrow on a bad night's sleep.

I sniffed the clinical smell of the infirmary, so strong that both my skin and lungs felt sensitive in the cold, unwelcoming room. I breathed shallow breaths, praying that this wouldn't take too long, else blisters would begin to appear on my exposed face and hands. I usually avoided infirmaries, preferring to suffer whatever malady had befallen me rather than face the symptoms which drew attention to my water allergy.

Then a thought formed in the back of my mind that made me pause in my mental stream of insults:

_Heartless._

I had been called it plenty of times by my classmates due to my complete lack of association with them. There hadn't been any point in trying to be friends, not when they were unable to see past the green skin. It was easier and more convenient to shut myself off and focus only on myself and my studies (and occasionally Galinda's dreadfully trivial prattle). Let them think I was a heartless, green being.

But when the thought came directly from myself it ripped through me strongly. Galinda was hurt and here I was silently moaning about what early hour of morning it was.

_Perhaps that's what happens when you get called a mean green thing one too many times._

Thankfully the wound was dealt with swiftly and Galinda and I were sent back up to our room with instructions as to how to take care of it. Once again she clung onto me in a way which I found inhibiting, but I didn't bother to protest, not when her usually sparkling eyes were still terrified by the incident. I wrapped one arm around her waist and carefully guided her back upstairs.

It was three o'clock in the morning by the time we returned. She quickly stripped off her clothing and changed into a night dress and did as good a job as she was able of removing her make-up. Her physique was already small and slender but the pink silk night dress and bare face gave her the appearance of a little girl rather than a petite woman.

I was reminded of all the times I had tucked Nessarose into bed.

I sat by her bedside as she crawled under the covers. She looked up at me with a tiny pout on her lips.

'Elphie, I'm scared.'

I was momentarily thrown by both the lack of honorific and the use of a nickname, but what stood out more was the way it had just slipped out of her mouth, quiet and exposed, as though she had not meant to say it. A tinge of pink appeared on the cheek that wasn't bandaged.

I stroked her golden hair.

'I'm right here,' I replied, holding back a nickname which had wanted to pass my own lips. 'You can sleep safe. Fiyero can't get you here.'

Galinda nodded and closed her eyes. In a few seconds she was softly snoring and her face became impassive. I stroked her hair again and went back to my own bed, looking over at her just once more before switching off my bedside lamp.

'You can sleep safe, my sweet,' I murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

**Moment of Weakness – Chapter 2**

The soft mattress had swallowed my limbs during the night. I was blissfully cocooned by my duvet which enticed me to remain still just a little while longer and bask in its comfort. I longed to give in, but the brightness behind my eyelids dragged me out of sleep and scolded me with reminders that it was morning and I had a test to take.

Reluctantly I forced my eyes open and sat up, blinking and shaking off the lethargy. I was late, by my standards (which thankfully meant I was still on time), and Galinda was still asleep.

Catching sight of the bandage on her cheek, the only visible part of her save for a few locks of golden hair (the rest of her was buried much like I had been), I was reminded of the events of last night.

_Fiyero, the stupid fool. Let someone hit him in the face and see how he likes the pain._

I must have been the only girl in the whole of Shiz who didn't have even an inkling of a crush on him.

I quickly bathed and got changed. As I pulled the tattered excuse of a plain, grey dress over my shoulders, Galinda shifted and let out a soft moan. I smirked at the irony of the fact that, in reality, I was from a wealthier background than she was. The silly airhead had no idea that the reason for my dire wardrobe was nothing whatsoever to do with an impoverished lifestyle.

A perfectly manicured hand made its way to Galinda's face and brushed over the thick bandage. She whimpered and opened her eyes and I felt a pang of sympathy.

I wondered: Which side of Galinda would I see today? The usual socialite or the vulnerable child from yesterday?

When I had finished changing I turned around and spotted her sitting in front of her mirror and dressing table. She hadn't made any move to get changed but was staring despondently at her reflection with a pout on her lips.

'Miss Galinda, much as I'm sure you love to bask in your own vanity, at this rate, you are going to be late,' I said.

She sighed again, and her finger traced the edges of the bandage.

'Well, Miss Elphaba, I'm sure you have better things to be doing than watching me while I figure out what to do about this,' Galinda retorted.

'I seriously doubt that anyone will care...'

'Since when did I ask your opinion, artichoke? Why don't you make yourself _not late_ by going away to Doctor Dillamond's boring old Life Science class which you seem to enjoy so much, and leaving. Me. Alone!'

I hesitated. On any other day I would have done as she'd said and left the room for both of our benefit. But somehow I couldn't quite bring myself to return to the dynamic we'd had prior to last night. Before today, I hadn't felt anything much towards her, but now, as I looked at her, I felt somewhat protective of the small, blonde thing.

Instead of responding to her question I said, 'You need to change your bandage.'

'And what could a green bean possibly know of what I need?'

Now it was my turn to sigh. I felt frustrated that she would so quickly put behind the events of last night and behave as though nothing had changed. It _had_ changed…hadn't it?

'Let me help you,' I said, approaching her, but as I reached out she slapped my hand away.

'You will do no such thing!'

'Just let me…'

'_No!'_

She whirled away and opened her closet, revealing racks of dresses and shoes, most of the pink variety with only one or two items in different colours. She sorted through them, trying to find something to wear, a tiny frown on her face. Her hand kept returning to the bandage and I knew she was in a lot of pain.

I wondered then if I really would have been better off leaving when I'd had the chance.

I busied myself by gathering my books for the day. Galinda got changed and then returned to her dresser. She picked up a tub of foundation but didn't make any move to apply it. She stared between the foundation and her reflection, her fingers peeling the edges of the bandage and the pout on her lips growing more prominent.

It hit me that she had not chosen to wear pink today. Instead she had chosen a simple, pale blue dress with less of the usual frills than she normally wore.

Finally, she peeled the bandage away entirely. The wound looked slightly less raw and the blood had clotted into a series of scabs which lay over the ugly bruise. She reached for the foundation and began to apply it – I realised, _over_ the bruise – and I was quick to intervene, knocking the stuff out of her hand. She spun around, jaw dropped, eyebrows raised.

'Miss Elphaba! How unseemly of you to just take my personal possessions like that!'

'You might not have a perfect memory but mine happens to be very good, and I distinctly remember the nurse telling you not to put anything on that bruise except for the cream she gave you last night. So yes, I will take away your foundation so that you do not harm yourself further.'

She shrank back in her chair and I saw her eyes well up and her lip quiver.

'How can I let them see me like this?' she said softly. 'Everyone will know…'

'Then let them know,' I replied. 'Maybe then they'll all realise what a bastard Fiyero really is.'

Galinda shook her head.

'I look _hideoceous.'_

'_You_ could never look hideous.'

'Even mean green things are prettier today.'

'Now Miss Galinda, I really must insist that you stop trying to usurp my title. I'm the hideous one, remember?'

I was pleased when a tiny smile appeared on her lips. She picked up the cream and started to apply it to the bruise, wincing slightly as she touched it.

'You are quite the cabbage. You are also late, which is giving me a migraine because it means you are still here.'

'Well if you really want me to go…' I began, as I turned around to leave. I had all but given up on this situation. But just as I placed my hand on the door handle, her voice cut through from behind, resonating through the room and causing me to pause.

'No, Elphie…'

It was one of the rare moments when Galinda said something and I knew that this was completely, one hundred per cent real – no masks, facades or pretences, just a genuine statement directly from her true self.

For all the protests, snide comments and insults, Galinda wanted me to stay.

_Elphie,_ she had called me. It was really annoyingly, quirkily, _cute._

She was crying again. I repeated the action of getting her tissues from the bathroom. I was beginning to understand what a big deal this was for her. If someone had hit me in the face I wouldn't have thought twice about it. I would have shown up with my bruise on display in all of its glory for the world to see. But unlike Galinda, I didn't have a reputation at stake. I also wasn't vain.

Someone as dainty and elegant as Galinda would never even fathom the idea of getting hit in the face, let alone being seen with a huge, ugly bruise. The idea that everyone would be talking about her visible deformity which so callously detracted from her beauty –

Well, Galinda would surely have a fit.

Even so, I found it scary how much it mattered to her. Did the girl not have any self-confidence?

'Then what would you like me to do? Because you seem to be rejecting any offer of my help, and yet you now claim that you do not want me to leave.'

She picked up a fresh bandage, placed it against her cheek and taped it down. She swivelled in her chair, trying for confident poise, but those blue eyes really were too wide and fearful to pull it off. Eventually she gave up and sagged her shoulders, and those same eyes met the floor.

'He'll be there,' she whispered, 'in class. What if he does it again?'

'He won't. I'll see to it that he never touches you again.'

I expected her to protest again on the grounds of not wanting to be seen as protected by the green girl, but she merely nodded and started to apply her lipstick.

'Promise?'

I nodded.

'Of course, my sweet. I promise.'

'You called me that again. You called me that last night.'

Her tone was not accusatory but acknowledging of the fact.

'You called me Elphie.'

'Well even a mean green thing needs a nickname!' she exclaimed, her voice suddenly more piercing. 'Now let's go before Doctor Dillamond has the most horrificus fit for being late that I have ever seen!'

'I seriously doubt that, my sweet,' I replied, but grinned because she had managed to regain some of her exasperating perkiness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Moment of Weakness – Chapter 3**

GALINDA

'Miss Galinda, dear, I really must enquire as to what has happened to your face!' Pfannee exclaimed. We were walking around outside after the test, making the most of the remainder of sunshine before the storms set in.

My uninjured cheek blushed furiously and I turned my face away as the incident flooded the front of my memory. Couldn't Miss Pfannee just shut up? No, no of course she couldn't. That would be like turning the ocean pink. Although, the ocean would be very pretty pink. Maybe the fish would be pink too. But anyway, the point is that I didn't want her yelling about my uglified face to the whole wide world!

'Miss Galinda?' Pfannee repeated.

I snapped my head in her direction.

'I fell.'

'Oh, well you poor thing! Having to walk around with that awful blemish. It won't scar will it?'

I winced horribly. It would do me no good having a permanent reminder of what that horrible Fiyero did to me. People would never look at me in the same way again. I would go from the most beautiful girl in all of Shiz to – to – a horrid, scarred thing, even uglier than the green bean!

'It won't. It had better not.'

'Well good, because you are too beautiful for such dreadful imperfections.'

I grinned at the compliment. We strolled around the side of the main Shiz building and I froze. Fiyero was walking the other way, directly toward us.

'My mother knows this doctor who specialises in scars. If you like, I can…' Pfannee started, then tailed off as she realised I was no longer following her.

My blood boiled. I stalled as I was confronted with a dreadfully confusifying dilemma. I was desperate to run, but that would require making a scene in front of Pfannee and, well, I didn't want her to find out how my injury really came about! But on the other hand, I simply couldn't stand to be in Fiyero's presence. What if he hit me again? Or did something worse?

The entire thing was incredibly dizzying, like there wasn't any air left in the world. Fiyero was getting closer. I had to make a move soon, before he reached me. I would have to pretend to greet him in my usual, friendly manner.

His eyes met mine.

I ran.

'Miss Galinda!' Pfannee yelped.

My legs carried me like they had a mind of their own. I sprinted towards the dorms, desperate for safety in the one place where boys were not allowed. The scenery passed by me in a blur. I could hear Pfannee's voice yelling at me to come back but I ignored her and tore up the spiral staircases to the third floor. I raced down the corridor, propelled the door to my dorm open, stumbled inside and slammed it.

Miss Elphaba was at her desk studying.

The door opened again and Pfannee came in.

'Sweet Oz, Miss Galinda, what was that about? You look like you've seen a ghost!'

I couldn't answer her. I stared at Elphaba who had turned around and was looking at me with worry.

'Elphie, I saw him.'

'_Elphie?'_ Pfannee questioned. 'Since when are you on such friendly terms with the artichoke…'

'Miss Pfannee,' Elphaba interrupted. 'Can you not see that your friend is in distress? As such, I think the amount of green jokes you can crack in one minute is rather irrelevant to the situation.'

I stared between them, horrendibly confusified. I didn't understand why I felt like it was so easy to want to confide in Elphie when I couldn't stand the horrible artichoke, and yet the thought of telling Pfannee, a good friend, the truth made me want to chunder.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. I needed Pfannee to leave before things got out of control. I was desperate for Elphie's comfort but if I did anything in front of Pfannee my entire reputation would be at stake. Running to the green girl for comfort? How pathetic Miss Galinda must be, hanging out with the lowest of the low.

'What happened anyway?' Elphaba asked.

'Goodness knows,' said Pfannee. 'One minute we're taking a stroll, the next, she turns and bolts.'

'Was Fiyero there?'

'Well we turned the corner and he was going the other way. Why? Has Fiyero got something to do with this?'

'Please don't,' I pleaded. 'Elphie, please.'

Elphaba nodded.

'That is Miss Galinda's business, and if she wants to tell you, I'm sure she will.'

Pfannee huffed and crossed her arms.

'How incredibly rude! Miss Galinda is one of my best friends! I would like to think she would come to me first. Wouldn't you, Galinda?'

I struggled to answer. What was it that people said about hard rocks and places and being stuck between them? The point is, I didn't want to offend either Pfannee or Elphaba, and on top of that my face hurt and Fiyero kept bothering me in my head and hitting me again! The tears flowed freely, dripping off my face and onto the floor. I snorted back some mucus and swallowed, feeling like a disgustified mess. Pfannee glared at me expectantly.

Luckily, Elphaba saved me.

'She will go to whoever she chooses,' she said. 'Now please leave. It is not a good time for you to be here.'

'Leave? I most certainly will not leave, not when Galinda needs me!'

'Well I suppose if Galinda asks you to stay…do you, Miss Galinda?'

My head hurt. I thought I ought to be polite and say that yes, she very much could stay. Instead I found myself shaking my head, desperate to be rid of the pressure.

'No,' I choked. 'Please leave.'

**A/N: I didn't intend to update this again. But I was reading back through it and decided to continue. I'm not sure where this is going. Either Gelphie friendship or romance, but undecided. If anyone wants a particular plot line, feel free to suggest it in a review and maybe I'll use it. Also, I updated chapter 1 with some minor edits, so the writing quality's a bit better. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Moment of Weakness – Chapter 4**

My heart hammered in my rather well filled out chest, so hard that I thought it might break out of my body. Pfannee, great Oz, was staring at me with an awfully strange look on her face, and when she turned around and left I thought that for a moment she looked incredibly sad, and I felt crushed all over again as I realised I'd hurt her.

I was so confusified! This choice should have been easy – shun the green freak and talk to Pfannee about my problems. But again, that tug of war thing in my brain was happening, and it hurt badly, and I felt really afraid of the consequences of my Oz-awful decision.

I collapsed upon my bed. Sweet Lurline, would the tears not stop flowing? The artichoke was probably thinking how pathetic I was, bawling my eyes out like this.

But at least I was safely away from Fiyero. I shuddered as I remembered how he had caught my eye. I swear that horrid boy smirked at me as I was reminded of that dreadful night before.

An arm around my shoulder startled me and I yelped as I thought Fiyero was back to get me.

'Shh, Galinda, it's only me. I'm not going to hurt you.'

Oh. Elphie.

I buried my face in her shoulder. Not two seconds ago I had called her the green freak, yet here she was taking care of me. How could I ever live this down once Pfannee let slip to the entire school that I picked the cabbage over her?

Yet I couldn't help but bask in her comfort. When had those arms become my safe space? When had they stopped being an object of abhor in my eyes? After all they were only arms. Green ones, but a rather pretty shade of green if you cared to look twice.

Not that I had ever looked twice before.

Now it would be much harder to declare those arms uglified once this terribly horrible situation was over. But would it ever be over? It wasn't as if I could wave a wand and make Fiyero vanish, which meant he would be here to torment me for the rest of my days at Shiz!

The thought caused more tears to stream down my face as Elphie gripped me tightly.

I forced myself to pull away, mumbling something about tissues. Immediately she was on her feet to the bathroom and back within seconds, and she dabbed my cheeks and I heard this horrible hissing noise. I looked at her properly for the first time and sucked in a sharp breath when I saw what could only be smoke rising from the skin around her fingers. They had turned from green to a dark shade of red and I swallowed back a wave of nausea as the implications hit me.

'No…no way,' I stammered.

She nodded.

'Don't worry, my pretty. This is nothing.'

'I don't – I mean, I heard rumours, but…'

'Just don't talk to anyone else about it.' Her tone was incredibly firm.

I nodded dumbly, my jaw slack.

Before I knew it the tissue had been yanked out of her hand by my own hand and I was standing a metre away from Elphie, drying my own face. She cocked one pointy eyebrow and her annoying smirk of a smile appeared on her lips.

'Well look at that. I think the sky has just turned pink. And here I thought Galinda Upland was incapable of a genuine caring gesture.'

I felt humiliated. I should have known better than to think the celery stick would keep being nice to me. She was probably having a nice little joke, leading me on with her comforting words and then turning on me like this! I should have stuck with Pfannee – she would have at least said nice things to me. Incapable of a genuine caring gesture? But I was good, people said so all the time! Miss Elphaba was the uncaring one as far as I was concerned.

The worst thing was that I couldn't ignore her statement as well as I used to. I was tired and vulnerable and still had this splitting headache which would not leave me alone, and I just wanted her to say something to make it all better – but no, of course she would return to her usual sarcastic disposition. Miss Elphaba capable of compassion? What a ridiculous thought!

'Oh, my sweet, I didn't mean it like that,' Elphie continued. 'Just, the Galinda that I'm used to would have run off to her high society friends to conform the rumour and laugh about it. This is quite a change.'

'I would not!' I protested.

_Yes you would,_ a sneaky voice in the back of my head countered. There seemed to be many things I was having trouble denying today. Like the fact that, on any other day, I would have sprung out of the dorm in glee to gossip with my friends about Elphie's freakish abnormalities. And that her skin colour really was rather pretty. And that, beneath Elphie's sarcasm, there really just might be a semblance of caring. And not to mention, that this Oz-forsaken headache wouldn't go away!

I perched dizzily on the edge of my bed.

'Okay, so you might be right,' I conceded, 'but as you can see I am in no mood for such things. Not when my reputation is at stake, Fiyero is out to get me and my head feels like it's being ripped in two.'

'Right, well, I suppose you want me to leave you alone then. I would _hate_ to be the reason your reputation got ruined…'

'Oh, just pack it in!' I cried. 'You and your stupid sarcasm. Always making fun of me, even when my head _really does feel like it's splitting in two.'_

She fell silent. The lack of noise was blissful. For once, no witty retort or cutting response. For once, the notion that just maybe she might have listened.

'I apologise, my sweet. Is it really that bad?'

I nodded, and blinked a few times.

'Well, my pretty, it seems that you have a choice,' Elphie said. 'Either you go back to the infirmary and get a painkiller, or stay here and go back to bed. Or both, for that matter.'

I screwed up my face. Could Elphie not see that I was already in a humiliating enough position as it was? If I was seen going down to the infirmary then more people would start to gossip about me, and that was most certainly the last thing I needed!

I said so to Elphie. Elphie sighed in exasperation.

'Miss Galinda, for all of your airs and flares and pretences I am shocked that even you would sacrifice your own health for the sake of your image.'

'You don't understand…'

'You're right, I don't. But seeing how I do not have the time nor patience to argue about this, I will go down and get the painkiller for you. You can stay right here and hide your pretty face from the world so that your precious reputation won't be tarnished.'

'Elphie!' I exclaimed. Sweet Oz, but the stupid green bean had no idea, did she? Of course other people's opinions wouldn't matter to someone like her. She just brushed them off and did her own thing, which usually consisted of book reading, studying and avoiding the world. But I wasn't Elphie. I had a high social status and the entire school watching me. I had to stay on top, because Oz forbid if I fell from the social ladder. My life would be ruined!

She looked at me oddly.

'I'll be right back,' she said, and left.

**A/N: I was wondering what people think of me trying to write using Galinda's voice in the chapters from her POV? Is it working, or is it really strange to read? Feedback is appreciated. Thanks! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Moment of Weakness – Chapter 5**

**ELPHABA**

I realised, on my second trip to the infirmary when my stomach growled its request for food, that it was almost lunch time.

Frankly, there were better things to be done. Reviewing notes. Reading a new book. Giving Oz-forsaken Galinda those pills she was too terrified to go and get herself. Nature always had this way of interfering during the most inconvenient times – though I imagined Galinda would quip something along the lines of almost every time of day being inconvenient for me. She would probably be right too, not that I would ever admit it.

I hated meal times. They were students-in-large-packs prime time. Social status, popularity – it was all drawn attention to when dining with your peers. Although I shunned popularity, and henceforth didn't care that I was always the girl sitting alone in the corner, I couldn't stand much of what I overheard from other tables. Let's just say, subtlety was scarce.

As soon as I left the cold, white walls of the infirmary (and really, the damn nurse took her sweet time handing over the painkillers while I tried not to faint from lack of air, because if I breathed it my lungs would burn), my mouth uttered a stream of curses. What in Oz did they put in the air in those places? It wasn't particularly moist so it wasn't water, and yet it affected my skin in a similar manner to it.

My stomach twisted as I approached the doors to the dining hall. They towered over me in all their expensive grandeur – they were just doors, and yet someone felt the need to decorate them with stained glass windows and jewels embedded in the doorframe. I prayed that the lunch queue would be short, lest I end up being the subject of the usual 'green' taunts and teases that emerged from immature tongues with no concept of meaningful conversation.

That, and Galinda would be waiting for me, I reminded myself. For her sake, I ought to be quick. I pushed the doors open and my senses were flooded with the smell of hot, delicious food, the babble of conversation, and the chinking and clinking of cutlery as people ate. The inside was as extravagant as the doors suggested – tablecloths made of the finest materials, delicate, expensive crockery, and a crystal chandelier dangling from the high ceiling, showering the room in a rainbow of colours.

I fell in-step with the rest of the queue dwellers and rolled my eyes when I found myself standing behind Pfannee and her army of socialites. She stood with her front-line cronies, Misses Milla and Shenshen, whispering about something, and Shenshen let out an unladylike shriek of laughter.

'Did she really? The good Miss Galinda? No, no she didn't!'

My ears pricked. I grabbed a tray and some cutlery. It was small and I realised I wouldn't be able to carry much with me in one go. My hunger could wait, I decided. I had no choice but to put Galinda first.

'Yes she did,' said Pfannee. 'She's totally been hitting on Fiyero.'

'How unseemly, engaging in such proclivities before wedlock,' Milla interjected.

'And what of her face? It's hideous!' Shenshen giggled.

'Well,' said Pfannee, 'you know, I feel so sorry for Fiyero. It's not his fault for being so handsome that Galinda felt compelled to force herself onto him like that. Naturally, he had to defend himself.'

I scooped some soup into a bowl, silently seething at the girls' lack of compassion. As quickly as possible, I piled some food onto a plate, not paying much attention to what it was, and left. I used the walk back to allow my fury to ebb but still kicked the door to my dorm open with more strength than was necessary.

'I've got food,' I announced with more gravel in my tone than I would have liked.

'Sweet Oz, Elphie, no need to yell,' Galinda grumbled. 'The volume does not help the migraine.'

'Well maybe some soup will.'

Galinda had curled up in the very corner of her enormous bed and had pulled the fluffy, bright pink duvet up to her chin. Her eyes were dull and her fingers once again peeled at the edges of her bandage.

I set down the tray of food on her bedside table. Galinda didn't blink.

'I should have wanted to,' she mumbled so softly that I almost didn't hear.

'What?'

'Accept his advances. We were perfect together. We were going to get married. But when he tried to take things further, I couldn't do it.'

I put a spoon in her hand and gave her the soup.

'Can't be that perfect then.'

'Oh shut up,' she sighed. 'Just because you hate him because he's not into green beans…'

'Galinda, I do not hate him because he dislikes my skin. I just happen to think he is a brainless idiot with bad intentions.'

I felt my stomach growl again as she slowly ate. How could she possibly eat so slowly when I was so hungry that I just wanted to devour the whole thing right then and there for her?

_Heartless,_ I reminded myself.

'You know, not wanting to do it isn't a bad thing, my sweet.'

I would really have to hold back on what I'd heard in the dining hall, though I knew it wouldn't be long before Galinda eventually figured out what was being said behind her back.

'But everyone expected it of me.'

I held back a sigh of exasperation. When in Oz was she going to learn that other people's expectations ought to be irrelevant to such serious matters? Would she really go that far just to retain her popularity?

Clearly not. She had ultimately said no.

When she was finally done (and sweet Oz, she really did take her time) I handed her the plate of food. She picked at it a bit, and I was unable to resist stealing a potato.

'You know, you cannot keep going like this.'

'Like what?'

'Running and hiding whenever you see him. You have to face him eventually.'

Galinda shoved the food away and buried herself in her shoulders shuddered and I realised I'd started her up with the crying again. I wondered how she hadn't shrivelled up by now from all the tears because this was getting ridiculous!

Well, there was only one way to sort this out, and it made me a little bit ill because I was effectively playing to her socialite personality. However, if it would get her to shut up and stop being pathetic, I decided it was worth it.

_'Miss_ Galinda,' – I emphasised the 'Miss' – 'Do you really want to be seen by the entire school as the pathetic girl who holed herself up in her room because of some guy?'

She froze. Then sat up again.

'Okay fine, Miss Elphaba, that was a low blow, you mean, green thing. Of course that would be perfectly horrendible!'

I smirked. Success.

**A/N: I didn't much like this chapter. It seemed a little bit stuck. Hopefully the future ones will be a bit better. Also, apologies for the slow update. My laptop charger is bust so I'm doing this from my iPad, which takes longer.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 6**

GALINDA

I desperately was not in favour of going to classes, but if I didn't then all of my friends would become confusified as to my whereabouts. I had to formulate a tip top, fool proof plan, immediately. My face was still scabby and horrible and I couldn't put any make-up over it, and was horrendified that I was forced to go about my day looking my absolute worst rather than my absolute best.

Elphie kept on and on insisting that it didn't matter, of course. Silly cabbage girl, well it's not like she had ever been beautiful for a single day in her life. She didn't know any different and was extremely resistant to my ideas to rectify the situation. Of course it mattered.

I would have to fake it. Maybe if I put on my bright and cheery face then people wouldn't notice the scab. Perhaps I would be able to deflect their questions as easily as I'd been able to lie to Pfannee that I fell. They would be sympathetic then and give me well wishes and I wouldn't have to worry about feeling humiliated.

With a hand shaking so badly that it was almost out of my control, I closed the door behind me and started on what felt like a very long, never ending, forever taking walk of doom. Or death, maybe, for I would die of embarrassment.

Laughter erupted from around the corner. I gasped and stumbled backwards, convinced that I had been seen. Then I heard voices talking and realised I knew who they belonged to.

'Oh, Fiyero, I know you didn't mean it,' said Pfannee, and I froze in shock. 'Of course it was silly Galinda's fault. Fancy coming onto you like that, out of wedlock especially!'

I raised one hand to my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. The tears slipped out before I could stop them.

'And to think,' Pfannee continued, 'how we all thought she was so good.'

The image of a fist reaching my face surfaced in my head. How desperate I was to run back into my room and curl into a ball and die! I would never be able to live down the notion that everyone thought I was the one who had instigated a move.

'It's not like I meant to hurt her,' Fiyero responded. 'But I had to defend myself, right? Didn't want her to force me, did I? Pfannee, you do understand, don't you?'

'Oh, Fiyero, of course I understand!' Pfannee gushed. 'Now, come on, let us go to class before we are late.'

'Class? What class?'

'You silly thing...'

Their voices trailed off into the distance. I stood rooted to the spot, paralysed, shaking, and nauseous. I recalled the expression on Pfannee's face when I'd last seen her. Was this revenge? Did I deserve this?'

I remembered how I had gushed to all of my friends about Fiyero being my boyfriend. About wanting to marry him. About spending the rest of my life with him. And now, there he was with Pfannee of all people, trying to blame me for the fact that he hit me!

Had I asked for this? Had I unwittingly sent some unconscious signal that I wanted him to take things to the next level? Maybe I had talked about him too much. After all, it was expected that people destined to marry would want to have sex with each other.

Sweet Oz, maybe I did deserve to be hit after all!

And what in Oz was I to do now? The entire school would be whispering about me! There would be not one single person on my side and I would be doomed to loneliness and humiliation for the rest of my life! I would be a greater nemesis even than the cabbage girl!

But wait...the cabbage girl didn't hate me. She couldn't hate me. Wouldn't. Would she? Would she get wind of this and hate me too? Was I now to be such an abomination that not even the artichoke would speak to me?

A hand brushed my shoulder. I squeaked and whirled around, embarrassed to be caught standing dumbly in the middle of the corridor, crying.

'Elphie,' I cried weakly, ashamed that I had been found in tears by her yet again. She wrapped an arm around me and I stared at her in shock, utterly confusified by her actions. It seemed overly extroverted of her to make that sort of contact with another person when she usually shunned people.

'Elphie, I hate this! I hate all of it!'

My knees buckled and I found myself trembling and sobbing on the floor. Elphie stayed by me, not really saying a whole lot, but not leaving either. I was mortified by the arrangement, but by this point all rational thought had left me.

'When did things get so bad? Why did it all have to change? I was so happy! And now it's all ruined! And I'll never be able to face them, ever! Elphie, how do you stand it? How do you stand being subjected to this all of the damn time? It's horrendible. _Horrendible!'_

Then she did something I never would have expected. She picked me up and carried me. On any other day I would have fought her, but I was tired and drained and upset and she was the only one who was taking any notice. Her embrace was surprisingly warm. I'd always imagined her to be cold as ice to match that Oz-awful personality of hers, but for the first time, I caught a brief hint of a mild, pleasant scent about her skin which relaxed me.

Yet again I found myself sitting on my bed. Despite the pinkified area being my favourite place in all of Shiz, all of my efforts at interior decorating seemed completely ludicrous. Who cared if my bed was pink or purple or, Oz forbid, green? My warm, fluffy duvet and mountains of pillows was not going to spare me from this destitute.

I could not help but emit a watery laugh.

'Elphie, you know I cannot possibly stay in bed forever, right?'

'I know. But better here than out there. You know there are sharks out there, right?'

'Sh - sharks?'

'Yep. There are many dangerous sharks out there, but one particularly bad, dangerous one.'

'Which one is that?' I asked through my tears.

'Well, her name is Pfannee and she is a big, fat shark with sharp teeth, and she bites very hard.'

I couldn't help a brief giggle before the image of a shark version of Pfannee started to scare me.

'How could she do such a thing?' I whispered. 'I don't understand.'

'You're so much better than them, you know,' Elphie said.

'Huh?'

I pondered her confusifying statement, remembering how we had first met. We had not started out well. She had been the most horrendible thing I had ever had to see, let alone live with. Of course, I had made best of the situation by shunning her and spending time with the other, more favorable, popular girls, and being the messenger of things to laugh at the artichoke about.

Yet here she was, caring about me when the rest of the school population had deserted me.

'I'm not better,' I mumbled guiltily. 'I'm as bad as they are.'

'No you're not,' Elphie said. 'I've seen you when you're alone. You fool everyone out there with your socialite persona, but I've seen the relief that crosses your face when you walk through these doors and you're able to stop pretending. I don't think that you're as happy as you say you are.'

I listened in silence.

'Sure you cracked jokes at my expense, and didn't bother to treat me like a human being, or make an effort to get to know me. But you always knew when to stop. I don't think you have it in you to be as cruel as those silly girls you hang out with...'

'They're not silly!' I interrupted.

She huffed.

'I hate to break it to you but yes, they are. In fact, they are worse than silly. They are horrendible bullies, they are, and I will _kill_ them for...'

'_Elphie!'_

'Sorry.'

We fell into an uncomfortable silence. It was weird and confusifying since usually I was a master of all things sociable and conversational, but somehow I had lost all of my clever phrases and my mind was drawing an annoying blank.

I stared between her and the door. I didn't know how I could be expected to ever leave the room ever again. So much for curing my headache, my brain was pounding worse than ever, making me squint at my surroundings. Even worse, Elphie was so – so – _observational,_ that I couldn't even hide it from her.

_How pathetic am I?_

I prayed she wouldn't say anything, but of course it was completely futile. Elphie was always far too much for dealing with these things properly, as it were, and that particular character trait came out right now as I closed my eyes and let slip a pained sigh.

'Are you coming down with something?' she said. 'Because if you are, you should...'

'I'm not coming down with anything, it's just all the talk of Oz-awful Fiyero doing my head in. I'm upset, Elphie, not sick.'

'If you say so . Are you going to go to class?'

I shrugged. The idea of going to class, quite frankly, made me feel sick.

'I don't know. You should though. No sense in missing anything because of me.'

'Alright then.'

She got up and left. I buried my head under my duvet, tring to relieve the headache. For the first time, I noticed the silence of the room, and scary images flashed through my head. Friendlessness. Loneliness. Humiliation.

The images were dominated by green skin.

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed this fic! I appreciate all of them. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas then feel free to leave them in a review, I welcome your ideas. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 7**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep them coming, they keep me happy and motivated.**

**Caricature of a witch: You said you would let Elphaba kill Pfannee. Well, I haven't quite done that, but let's just say there's a bit of a showdown in this chapter so I hope you enjoy it.**

**Varia: Thanks for your suggestion for the story. This will probably happen eventually, but not for a few chapters because Galinda has a lot to overcome first. But it's on its way.**

ELPHABA

My footsteps clanged down the empty corridor. Burned into the front of my brain was the memory of Galinda's devastated face as she learned the truth of her friends' betrayal.

I was sick of all the tears. I never had been good with crying people – even Nessarose. I certainly had no desire to continue acting as a nanny to Galinda. And yet, in spite of that, I blanched at the idea of abandoning her now, when she had already lost everything else.

Muttering a stream of angry curses under my breath, I turned a sharp corner and hurried down the next corridor. Never in my life had I been late for a class, but that was the least of my worries. My hands were trembling uncontrollably and tingling, a bad sign. I couldn't afford to lose control, not when the consequences could be devastating, but the magic was coming too fast and I squinted, desperate to make it stop.

I saw the teary blue eyes once again, turning to me desperately for answers that I did not have. I saw the hatred on Pfannee's face when Galinda sent her away in favour of my company. I saw my own green skin, and heard the taunts and jeers of my classmates as they ridiculed my differences. I saw the guilt written all over Galinda's face as she confessed that she had once been one of those people.

I opened the door to the literature classroom and saw Pfannee with her hand holding Fiyero's, and a smug expression on her face.

And I snapped.

A loud tremor shook the entire classroom. People screamed and cried out and looked around wildly. Chairs and desks started to rise; windows shattered; books went flying. The professor cried, 'Sweet Oz, what is the meaning of this?' but I ignored him and stormed up to where Pfannee and Fiyero were now floating.

'Own up!' I yelled. 'Own up to what you did to Galinda!'

Pfannee was squealing and clutching the edges of her seat. Fiyero rolled his eyes and started spinning his chair around like he was on an Oz-forsaken magic teacup ride.

'What's it to you, green bean? Jealous that she hit on me and not you?'

_'No, you stupid fool!'_

I ignord the pleas of 'Miss Elphaba!' and 'Please stop!' and threw my hands forward, causing Fiyero's chair to crash against the wall. He tumbled out of his seat and rolled onto the floor with a loud groan.

'How dare you treat her so disrespectfully! How dare you hurt her so badly! And you...' I turned to Pfannee, who was quivering in her seat, '...you deceived and betrayed her. You're hateful! And she deserves far better than the likes of you for a friend!'

'Miss Elphaba, please...'

'Well gee,' said Fiyero. 'Anyone would think you were in love with her.'

I froze. My mind went blank. Slowly I lowered my hands and the tables and chairs descended back to the floor. The students and professor murmured relieved sighs before turning to me in a stunned silence. Slowly, my brain caught up and the realisation of my actions hit me.

'I'm sorry,' I mumbled, and I turned and fled.

I rushed out of the building and into the grounds, sucking in some large gulps of fresh pine cone air. I ran far enough to be out of sight and sank behind a tree. Tears burned my eyelids but I did not let them fall. I could only imagine what was going to happen next. Nessarose was going to kill me – and worse, father would take me out of Shiz if he got wind of this. Shiz might expel me regardless, and then I would have to leave Galinda behind.

Oh crap.

_You stupid idiot, Elphaba. Because of your rash behaviour you might have achieved the opposite of what you wanted._

Suddenly I found my cheeks stinging as I thought about the perky socialite. I recalled the countless occasions I'd watched her moan about a dress dilemma, the delighted grin that appeared whenever she made a new purchase, the endless babble as she chattered about needless things and indulged in trivial and shallow activities like redoing her make-up for the third time that day.

Guilt ripped through me as I imagined the pout that would appear if I had to tell her I was leaving. I wondered when we'd reached the point that we might actually miss each other as roommates. Had we really become so close?

_It might not matter,_ I thought numbly. _If I have to leave now, it will be my fault, and she will have no one._

I wiped my face and slowly stood. I needed to see Galinda. Taking a deep breath and ignoring my burning, itching face, I made my way back to Crage Hall, praying that I wouldn't pass by any of my classmates. I didn't think I could face them right now.

I arrived at the door to room 22 and grimaced. Galinda was going to be furious.


	8. Chapter 8

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 8**

**A/N: Wow, two chapters in one day! Yay!**

**I just wanted to make a special mention to Comingandgoingbybubble, who succeeded in reviewing the last chapter within five minutes of me posting it. Everyone, take note. That is how it's done.**

**I went off on a tangent in this chapter, using a completely different writing style than before. I think it turned out quite well, much better than the last chapter anyway. What do you think? Do you like it, or did you prefer when I was writing more in Galinda's voice?**

**Also, we are going to play a game called 'spot the musical reference.' You are going to tell me which line it is, and which song it was a reference to. Got that? Okay, read on!**

GALINDA

I was safe, safely hidden away. Doors blocking me from the rest of the world. Pillows squashed into my face to blind me from my surroundings. I could be anywhere in Oz – the rustic, rolling hills of Munchkinland, or the industrial Emerald City. The towering mountains of the Great Kells, or my own bedroom in Frottica with Momsie and Popsicle nearby.

The darkness was blissful. It was void of humiliation and hurt and betrayal. It was a black canvas onto which I could paint my ideals in my dreams: the bright colours of the high life I always longed for; a group of friends to laugh and play with; a grand mansion with one hundred rooms and tall ceilings and pink crystal chandeliers and champagne glasses.

An overabundance of green, green everywhere, all over the place, bathing me in comfort and protection.

I didn't know what to make of it.

Certainly now my collection of petty insults suddenly seemed harsher than I remembered. Once a joke, they now caused my stomach to twist with a sick feeling. Soft, grazing words had become sharp daggers, dangerous weapons I no longer wished to play with.

My visions had included the scandalacious Winkie prince. Marriage. Children. Praise from the whole of Oz – the good Lady Galinda and the Winkie Prince Fiyero Tigelaar – oh, what a perfect match they were! – they would say. But no more. Now only pain presented itself at the mere thought of Fiyero coming anywhere near. The itch of my scabby face still present, reminding me of his cruel actions. Feelings similar to those I used to have for Fiyero now directed at someone else, which I couldn't quite explain: they crept up from beneath the loathing and disdain and all of the petty arguments, all of which seemed so silly.

And what of them? I had once been determined that any semblance of feeling towards the green girl that was above my undying hatred of her was sinful. I had despised, even feared, the verdigris, that it might provide a dent which would cause the downfall of my carefully woven reputation. Fiyero, he was supposed to be my bolster, my security boyfriend, sealing the love of the people of Shiz, but in the end it was he who became my downfall. And now Elphie was all I had left.

The door handle twisted.

She seeped into the room like liquid, smooth, quiet and voluptuous. I heard the door quietly close and the shuffling of feet towards the other side of the room. She did not speak. Perhaps she thought I was sleeping. She moved around softly, doing whatever it was that she did, and I suddenly longed to see the face of my protector.

I peeked out from the duvet. Back to the reality which was my presence in Shiz university and not the faraway places that I dreamed of. Elphie was pacing. She did not notice my subtle shift as I hoisted myself onto my elbow to watch. Her face was contorted and her hands curled into fists.

Then I realised barely half an hour had passed since she'd left for class. Had it been cancelled, and now she was angry about missing a test? _That would be just like her,_ I thought, smirking.

'No class?' I said. 'Oh let me guess, someone got your knickers in a twist over some political issue or other. The Animals again?'

'I used magic.'

Never before had I heard her words come out so soft spoken and lacking in their usual bite and sarcasm. She stopped in the middle of the room, her face turned away from me, hands still clenched, awfully tightly, I thought – that would leave nail marks.

'Magic?' I inquired.

'I got mad. I saw Pfannee and Fiyero and I lost control.'

My jaw slackened unwillingly as all sorts of thoughts raced through my head. I had been so caught up in staring at Elphie that I had almost forgotten my predicament, but now it came rushing back to me in a terrifying tsunami of dread. My breath hitched. My own fingers curled.

'I can fight my own battles,' I said coldly. 'I am not the sort who requires others to defend me.'

Elphie winced. She turned, her steely gaze boring into me.

'I hate to break it to you, Miss Galinda, but not everything is about your reputation. Forgetting the fact that actually, yes, you are rather the sort to need defending as the last two days has proved, did you even stop and think about, oh, maybe how it might have affected me?' She threw her hands up in frustration. 'Oh, but of course you didn't, seeing how you never think of anything or anyone but yourself.'

I pouted, thinking that perhaps it would make her stop if she thought she was upsetting me. She didn't. I should have known – she never bought my little gestures the same way everyone else did. She continued her tirade, each word slicing through me. Her own daggers, five times as painful.

'You see, my careless actions could render me in deep trouble. Trouble which came about because I was protecting you, Galinda. Well what a waste! Why should I have bothered defending such an atrocious being?'

'Atrocious!' I exclaimed. 'Oh, to be called atrocious by the vicious, green...'

I stopped. The words had almost slipped out too easily but I held them back. We stared at each other, locked into a battle of wills – who would strike first?

Her words had shocked me and I felt a twinge of hurt. I marvelled at the emotion, that her words could affect me so. Not long ago I couldn't have cared less what she thought of me. Now I was overcome with a sense of loss as any chance of friendship slipped through my fingers. Friendship? Did I really want it so badly? I had had so many friends, but all of a sudden they didn't seem to matter. Those shallow friendships, those betrayers.

In the end it was I who conceded.

'What of the magic?' I asked. 'What did you do?'

'Enough.'

The word seemed to echo around the room. She tore her gaze away and turned towards her corner. She grabbed a book off the shelf and flicked it to a random page. She perched on the edge of her bed, seemingly having lost interest in the conversation. Posture rigid. Limbs restless. The occasional sigh or grunt, which I had come to assume since rooming with her meant that she couldn't concentrate.

It was this that made me realise that, whatever the situation had been, it was bad enough to probably warrant some form of punishment. Detention? It would be laughable. Shiz's brightest student doing – what? – writing lines? In the place of her long, wordy essays, an endless script of _I must learn to control my temper...I must learn to respect my peers...I must not lose control of my magic?_ How beneath such a scholarly sort.

The school would be fraught to control her. Elphie, with her magic, could prove dangerous or useful to them. They trained her at the university, making her useful so that when she was older she could be of service to Oz. But Elphie was far too much a free spirit, making her way through life as it suited her, never succumbing or pandering to others, uncaring of their opinion of her. I knew already her lack of intention to be serviceable to anyone at all – except, perhaps, Nessarose, who needed her.

I gasped when it hit me. It was not the school which would impose punishment on Elphie, but her own family. My stomach clenched with fear and my lip trembled.

'No,' I said, 'no, they can't take you, Elphie! They can't take you away!'


	9. Chapter 9

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 9**

**A/N: I was a little sad that no one bothered to guess the musical reference. But I'll tell you anyway. The line was** **'I had had so many friends, but all of a sudden they didn't seem to matter.' It is a reference to 'For Good' in the musical, where Glinda says a similar line: 'I've had so many friends, but only one that really mattered.'****  
**

**Anyhow, there is another musical reference in this chapter if anyone wants to find it. Please please review, lately I've only been getting like 2 for a chapter, a few more would be excellent.**

**Special mention to two very faithful reviewers, comingandgoingbybubble and Caricature of a Witch. Thanks you two! :)**

ELPHABA

Her air of panic startled me out of my own. I was at a loss as to the reason. Did she not want me to go now that she had declared me damaging to what remained of her tattered image?

_She asked you to stay last night too._

I could not fathom the turnaround, the unpredictability of her actions. The swing from loathing to craving my protection to turning me away so coldly to suddenly not wanting me to leave. I also could not fathom that I did not wish to leave her even when it was quite clear she was still only thinking of herself.

I looked now upon her frazzled face and messy hair. She gripped the edge of her duvet hard.

'Yes, Galinda, they can. My father. He can and will.'

'He doesn't have to know!' Galinda declared.

'Nessa will tell him.'

'Then talk to her! Tell her not to write to him!'

I smirked at her silly ideals. Little Galinda, so used to having it easy. She possessed the charm that sweetened others into a state of willingly giving into her needs. Like a spell, really. A sickly sweet, marshmallow flavoured love charm.

I possessed no such quality.

'You think my pleas would mean anything?' I responded. 'That is ridiculous.'

'Then I'll tell her. Maybe I can convince her to...'

She tailed off as harsh reality caught up.

'Oh wait,' she mumbled. 'I can't. Not anymore.'

From then on, silence and cold stares surrounded me in a thick fog. I was accustomed to the background hum of both curiosity and cruelty towards my skin. The jeers and taunts had been the music of my day, occasionally accompanied by an unsubtle point in my direction or a peal of laughter. After I lost control, the music died. I moved through my peers in a bubble of repellant, parting the sea of students with my presence. They shrunk away, always in the opposite direction. Some of them flinched.

I fell victim to the round, hurt eyes of Nessarose as she wheeled past, her chair being pushed by the Oz-awful Shenshen. She asked Shenshen to stop, and she turned and faced me.

'You didn't even think about me,' she accused. 'You embarrassed me horribly, Elphaba.'

The eyes were laced with tears and disappointment. I turned around and fled, unable to watch as Shenshen wheeled her away again. I had failed, failed as her sister; failed as her carer; and now I would pay the price of my actions – the price of my good deed to protect Galinda.

_Who was it who once said that no good deed goes unpunished?_

Or had that been my own thought, born from years of that very thing happening?

Either way, I walked on eggshells, expecting a bomb to drop at any moment. I marvelled as the first day passed with no mention towards the incident, and then the second day too. It was only by the third day that I figured out why. The silence. The avoidance. The lack of punishment.

They were scared of me.

The revelation left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Then, on the fourth day, a letter came from father, declaring that I was to return home at the end of semester and he was pulling my tuition fees. I read his cold words of humiliation with trembling hands, devastated and angry. When I returned to my room I ranted and raved and paced around, all the while with Galinda frantically scheming to keep me here.

I still didn't understand why.

She walked in my shadow, her ruined face slowly healing but turned from the frightening eyes of her peers. She never came too close: sometimes, if I spoke to her, she would look around nervously to see who was in the vicinity before deciding whether or not to respond. Then she would emit a sad sigh and shrug and reply to whatever statement or question I had made, as though she was resigned to my company rather than wanting of it.

She would shrink in fear upon seeing her former friends. Her eyes teared as they turned from her and made remarks about the Fiyero incident, cruel remarks which were not in her favour. The narrow minded fools, so quick to believe any story without considering the source, or the other side of the matter. But Fiyero's flirtatious eyes batted away all logical thinking and the girls were charmed into taking his side of the story as the real one. It was far too easy to make Galinda a target – better her than the scandalacious Fiyero, right?

The evening of the day I got the letter, I caught Galinda staring wistfully at my side of the bedroom with her wide doe eyes.

'What,' I snapped. She had long exhausted her list of ridiculous schemes, and I prayed she was not about to continue. I didn't want to listen to her harp on about it. They were false optimisms, only serving to cloak us both in denial of the real and frightening situation.

'I was just thinking...'

'A miracle, surely!' I interrupted. 'Far be it from the good Miss Galinda to ever have to think!'

'You're not very kind, you know.'

'That is what you were thinking about? After all this time you only just noticed that no, I am not a kind person?'

'No, Miss Elphie, that is certainly not what I was thinking of.'

She twirled around dramatically and flopped onto her bed.

'Then what thought, pray tell, passed through that pretty blonde head of yours?'

She sat up, grinning, and giggled slightly. I cocked an eyebrow, flummoxed by her behaviour. Had she not been annoyed with me but one second ago? And now she was smiling?

'You're sweet.'

'I thought I was unkind.'

'You called me pretty,' she said through her pearly white teeth.

'And that is your measurement of my character? The number of compliments I bestow upon you?'

_'No, Elphaba Thropp!' _she exclaimed. 'Oz, Elphie, you are so dense! And anyway, that is not what I was thinking either!'

'Then what?' I sighed wearily.

'Wellllll...'

She got up and spun around the room in a dizzying whirlwind, giggling.

'You see,' she continued, 'and don't be annoyed with me for bringing this up, but I reeeeallly think...' she hopped onto her bed and started bouncing '...that I might have come with an utterficially, deliciously, legitimate way to get you to stay here!' She leapt off the bed and landed on the floor with a loud thump.

I watched with interest her raucous actions, her sudden over the top cheeriness, her carefree giggles and twirls. This from the girl who, only a few days ago, had shed so many tears for her own grievances. Her excitement tugged at my chest, daring me to feel any kind of hope for the situation, whether it be false or not. I squashed it down, mentally laughed it off. Silly Galinda Upland could not possibly save me from this.

'And what is that?' I asked.

'You could apply...for a _scholarship!'_

I stared at her, dumbfounded.

'Actually, that's not a half bad idea,' I choked out.

She giggled and flopped back onto her bed, her limbs sprawled at all angles, barely just covered enough by the short strip of material that made up the skirt part of her bright pink dress. I mulled over the idea, already spotting holes in it. I had had genuine hope for one moment...but no, it would be impossible.

'But then what? I'll have to go back for the holidays regardless, and then he'll just force me to stay there anyway. And Nessarose. Nessarose needs me.'

'Oh.' Galinda's voice was hollow. She went quiet and still. I would almost have called it thoughtful, but more likely she was merely annoyed that I'd rejected the idea.

'Do it anyway,' she said. 'You can figure out the rest later, but it's a start, isn't it?'

Those beautiful doe eyes were fixated on me, causing me to waver and want to yield to her suggestion. I still had no faith that the idea would work, but the very thought of leaving Shiz was devastating, never mind actually doing it.

'Yeah. Okay.'

'Really?' she squealed. She bounded towards me and embraced me in a tight hug. I froze as she wrapped those lithe, pale arms around me. It seemed too close, far closer than even my own relatives, yet I did not ask her to pull away. The embrace filled me with warm tingles, not entirely unpleasant, but certainly odd. I was unaccustomed to being hugged. They were conferred upon me with great difficulty as the population feared my pigmentation. Would it spread to them? Was I tainted, sick, contagious?

Galinda thought so too. Had thought so too. Yet here she was, her arms unashamedly around me. When, to her, had my skin ceased to be an aberration?

For that, I would let her live in her happy denial just a little bit longer. I myself was under no delusions – I was out of here, I thought sadly – but I could continue to let her believe, to let her be naive and idealistic, until the passage of time forced her to face the cold, hard truth.


	10. Chapter 10

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 10**

**A/N: So much better for the reviews guys! Thank you! I am a very happy writer now. :D**

**Special mention to Varia who reviewed three chapters in a row, and ExoticPeachBlossom for sending me a lovely PM in lieu of a review.**

**No musical reference this time, but if you didn't get the last one, it was 'No Good Deed'.**

GALINDA

It was difficult to hate Fiyero when the good times still overwhelmed my memory. I had been accustomed to his face lighting up when I entered the room; the numerous gifts he showered me with; the hot dates at the most swankified eateries in Shiz. Such reminisces of the fun, the laughter, now rendered me incapable of speech while I fought what seemed to be a permanent lump in my throat as I yearned, for the first time, for a thing which I could not have. I was Galinda Upland (of the Upper Uplands, as I couldn't resist tacking it on at the end), a girl who was supposed to have everything, and I now found myself sorely lacking, and longing for the days when life was easy.

At the forefront of my life was a harsh lesson which presented itself daily and nightly. Elphie's verdant skin, once an aberration to me, now spoke terrible and confusifying words, shocking me with the notion that the things I was feeling now were things that Elphie had been forced to suffer her entire life. Added to my confusifying feelings was a layer of sorrow not anything to do with me, but the weird, green girl who lived every day in a world of ostracisation.

I spent the next while battling the two sorrows which did not seem to want to unite. I had been told, again and again, to remember who my true friends were, but is that what Elphie was? A friend? She wasn't a bit like my previous friendships, not chatty nor friendly, but ever so sarcastic and disparaging of my personality. She made me unwittingly question myself, my behaviour, my character, which I had been so sure of before, but was now beginning to doubt.

And the feelings, still looming, still threatening me with their existence. They made me feel like a betrayer in my own right, that I was having them for someone who was not Fiyero, someone who was very undoubtedly female, and very, very green.

Then, when I thought I was going to lose her, a gut-wrenching twist in my stomach as my emotions swung again: Was I not betraying Elphie by still craving Fiyero? Why did I wish so badly for her to stay when we had no hope of being kind to each other?

I continued to follow in her shadow, afraid that if I didn't, I would be abandoned to the loneliness of my own company. The tiffs, the little fights, they provided a distraction from the memories. Elphie neither encouraged me nor begged that I leave, but continued to work on removing herself from the predicament that resulted from her magic.

Magic born of her desire to protect me.

I briefly pondered the tempting idea of writing to Momsie and Popsicle requesting to leave Shiz, but quickly tossed it. If I wrote, they would know of my failure to create an upstanding image of myself. At least, that is the excuse I claimed: in the back of my head, a hard tugging reminded me of the real reason I wanted to stay, but I squashed it down, desperate to not admit it.

Now I was the one who seeped, moving quietly through the university, trying not to be seen. My attempts were futile, and I was met with more spotlight than I ever could have imagined as people laughed at me and taunted me at every corner. Funny, how I used to crave the spotlight.

Every day I was forced to confront Fiyero and Pfannee, who couldn't seem to do anything away from my unwanting eyes. She passed to me many a smug expression – 'Fiyero is mine now,' it said – and made exaggerated gestures towards him. I was appalled, and then I realised that I had once behaved exactly like her, and I felt ashamed.

The day after Elphie's father's letter arrived, she went to see Madame Morrible about the scholarship. I was touched that she had taken on an idea that came from me – I was far more used to her calling me a silly airhead and ignoring me. I spent the rest of the day feeling giddy and entertaining the notion that I had become her saviour. It was my repayment for what she'd done for me, including not abandoning me. The feeling was laced with more confusion, but still, I was pleased.

She stalked back into our room that evening, a mountain of books under her arm. I was busy applying moisturiser to my face, trying to lessen the chance of a permanent, ugly scar. I caught sight of her in the reflection of the mirror and wondered, yet again, how one person could devour so many books in the manner that she did. Her shelf was already bursting at the seams with volume after volume of a great variety of subjects, many of which I had no notion of. Elphie carefully stacked the new books on her desk. I had asked her many times before about the books, and been rewarded with a myriad of different sarcastic responses each time, yet I found myself yearning to speak to her, to say anything at all, just to hear her low inflections fire right back at me. To feel like she was bothering to give me the time of day, even thought I was the one who instigated the chatter.

'Elphie,' I said.

'Yes, my sweet.'

The rare nickname filled me with warmth. I was still usually 'Galinda' or 'Miss Galinda' when we went about our day – they were often accompanied with something disparaging – but there were rare times when neither of us was irritated with the other, and the nickname slipped out, as if Elphie didn't know she was saying it.

'What are you reading?'

She had indeed picked up a book, as was usual most evenings. She didn't even glance up from its pages when she responded. How was it possible to become so lost in the words so quickly?

'Really, Galinda? Again?'

'Well I want to know.' I pouted, though she couldn't see it. She flicked a page with her pointy finger.

'Scholarship stuff.'

'Oh.'

I was displeased by the lack of fire in the conversation. Insecurity plagued me, gripping me with questions as to how she was so easily able to ignore me. Was I so easy to dismiss? Worse, I was finding it increasingly difficult to ignore her. Once, I would have made it a conquest to make her pay attention, but what, I thought, was the point if the attention was to be insincere? More than likely I would end up insulting the green girl, who was the straightest talker I had ever met. I didn't want the false words of praise I'd been accustomed to prior, but her biting remarks and sarcastic disposition, neither of which she was giving me right now as she gobbled down that Oz-forsaken book of hers!

I sat in silence, pondering the situation. A small thought reminded me that this was scholarship stuff she was doing, and that I ought not to interrupt her if I wanted her to have any chance of staying at Shiz. I had also run out of empty words to throw at her. So I sat, not really doing much of anything, wrapped up in my confused thoughts, a situation I was not used to. Where had all the parties and nights out gone? Where were the endless plans and engagements? Where was the lack of time I used to moan about while getting ready to attend a social function?

_Gone,_ I realised, as for the first time, I had nothing to do.


	11. Chapter 11

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 11**

**A/N: To those who wanted Galinda to confront Pfannee, here you go! No Fiyero yet, though, I'm holding out on that one. :D**

**13/09/2013: Chapter updated to resolve consistency problem.**

ELPHABA

'If Nessarose needs you so badly, your father will have to let you stay at Shiz for her sake.'

The statement came from Galinda on Saturday afternoon. I had been in the middle of studying some of the new material when she sneaked up behind me and stole my book. I would have once been irritated, but in fact, I hadn't been able to concentrate. The words had blurred before me into images of hopelessness and futility. I was, after all, only doing this to placate Galinda, and not because I believed her plan could actually work.

So when the book disappeared from in front of me, my exasperation came out of habit, rather than genuity.

We now walked around outside. It was freezing, but Galinda had insisted that I come, claiming that she didn't want to walk around by herself.

'What's so wrong with being by yourself?' I'd asked.

'You don't understand,' she'd whined. 'If I get seen alone...'

'Better than being _seen _with me, since it matters to you that much.'

But she had insisted anyway, and her annoying pout and whiny complaints had driven me to agree. I had no idea why she was so concerned about being seen as anything at all with her reputation already so broken. _But, _I reminded myself, _people can't be expected to change overnight._

We wandered around in the harsh, biting wind. She, lucky thing, had a thick, fur coat to wear – I wondered, with a twist in my stomach, if the fur had been procured from an Animal, but said nothing. My thinly covered arms shivered. I could have afforded a better coat than the old, papery thing. I could have asked for the money, and would have been granted it. But I never did. Coats and such things seemed silly and indulgent when I had higher priorities.

'It doesn't matter,' I responded to her statement about my father. 'He'll find some excuse or other for Nessarose to suddenly not need me anymore. Probably something along the lines of 'She's rooming with Madame Morribe who can take adequate care of her anyway'.'

'Right.'

The silences were becoming more frequent and less comfortable. It had been a few days since our last spat – it's not that I didn't still find her incredibly irritating, but we seemed to have fallen into an acceptance of each other's differences. But without the previous tiffs, our ability to converse was somewhat lost. What did two girls who were not really friends say to each other?

Over the last few days she had continued to make suggestions about my father. It was sad to watch her unending optimism when I knew full well that ultimately it was no use. I had blown my chance at Shiz with my actions. I was lucky to have still been here after the first time, when I tried to take Nessa back from Morrible. Morrible had saved me then by speaking favourably of my talent, but no one was speaking favourably now: I was a freak in everyone's eyes, including the professors.

I shivered from the cold. How long had we been out here for? I was desperate to go back inside but knew that Galinda would have a fit if I did anything like that. But thankfully, she seemed to have a similar idea.

'Let's go to a cafe,' she eventually said, and I concealed a sigh of massive relief. 'Oh, OH, I know! Let's go to the Wilted Rose! I haven't been there for ages! Please Elphie?' She batted her eyelids towards me.

'Alright, my sweet,' I responded, trying not to sound too eager.

The Wilted Rose was just down the road. I was relieved when we passed from the icy chill of outdoors to the warm, coffee scented cafe. She made a great show of shimmying her shoulders out of the coat and handing it to the waiter to hang up somewhere. Then she gracefully pulled out her chair and sat down in the most stylish manner she could muster. The whole display seemed incredibly silly: who could possibly be watching her, other than me?

She ordered a hot chocolate, and I was resigned to ordering nothing in case it was made with water. I stared enviously at hers – it looked so warm and comforting, and I still felt a bit cold from outside.

The opening of the door again ten minutes later blasted a cold draught of air in our direction. I turned around to glare at the culprit, only to end up staring in fury at the very people who had hurt Galinda so badly. Galinda emitted a small whimper at their arrival.

'Oh no,' she whispered. 'Elphie, let's go! Let's go, please?'

But I was not privy to giving up the tiny allowance of warmth I received in here. The harsh weather was extremely unappealing.

'Don't be ridiculous,' I hissed.

'But Elphie...'

'No. It's been over a week now. You should face your demons.'

She shrank into her chair and turned her face away. Her eyes were, yet again, glistening with the threat of tears. Lurline, I was really going to have to do something about this! All this crying!

I guessed that if she had been with her parents, they would have given into her wish immediately. They would not have been able to withstand the pleading puppy expression she bore when she wanted something. Thus, she had spent her whole life being all too used to walking away from a situation without dealing with it properly.

No wonder she was so weak.

'Galinda, you do realise that if you burst into tears now, Pfannee and Fiyero will only have more reason to taunt you.'

She winced and bit her lip. At least, I thought, she was trying, though admittedly it looked like she was failing. She gripped the edge of the table hard as Pfannee, Fiyero and a bunch of cronies took a table near the back of the café and ordered their drinks.

I prayed they would stay there.

Apparently the Unnamed God did not listen to the prayers of those who didn't believe in souls. It wasn't long before Pfannee rose from her seat and flounced up to our table in a frivolous manner, and I rolled my eyes, concerned with what this might do to Galinda.

'So I heard a rumour,' Pfannee said.

Galinda jumped and stared fearfully at her.

'And what piece of baseless information might that be?' I responded.

Pfannee leaned over the table with that stupid, smug smile on her face.

'Well, you see, we couldn't help but notice…'

'Who's we? You and your bunch of cronies? Why should Galinda and I care for the opinion of a bunch of shallow twits?'

She took a deep breath. Galinda was trembling, I could feel it through the shaking table.

'I am going to ignore that, as I am above such things. Anyway, there has been much talk that Fiyero was not the only victim of the raucous Galinda Upland. Rumour has it, there are _loads_ of others as well.'

Galinda spluttered, then daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin. I watched as she tried to retain her composure and not break under the pressure, but the little signs, such as the reddening of her cheeks and her still trembling limbs, gave away that she was panicking.

'I am insulted by such talk,' she quietly remarked.

'I beg to differ. Was it not I who was insulted last week?'

Suddenly, I caught sight of something I has not noticed. Pfannee looked affronted, and Galinda, guilty. I was staring at the remains of a tattered friendship, where both parties were unsure how to deal with it. I had to remind myself that I was not Galinda. I'd had no previous attachment to Pfannee, so it was easy for me to hate her behaviour. But all behaviour was born of something, and hers came from defending herself against Galinda's rejection of her friendship.

Suddenly I was at a loss of how to act. The usual tirade would not help here.

'I made my decision with great difficulty,' Galinda said. Her eyes still would not meet.

'Clearly. So what did the green bean do, spell you? Or maybe you spelled her, just like all those other boys of yours.'

'Please leave.'

'You probably didn't even need to spell her. She's so desperate for friends that she came to you willingly…'

'Stop it!' Galinda cried. 'Elphie is not like that! Certainly she would never set out to hurt people! Certainly her heart is not encased in jealousy, unlike yours!'

A silence rang throughout the room. I was stunned and confused by Galinda's words. I was encased with a strange, warm feeling that she was defending me. She gripped the edge of the table so hard that I was sure she could break it. She almost looked fierce, if not for her pretty, golden curls rendering her rather like a child having a tantrum. No matter what, anger just didn't suit her and I hated seeing her worked into such a state.

'Pfannee, please leave,' I said. Pfannee stared at Galinda, shocked, then turned around and flounced back to her table. Galinda visibly relaxed and finally released her grip on the table.

'She's hurting,' she said, 'and it's my fault.'

'It's her own fault.'

She shook her head.

'No. No matter what, the fact is, I hurt her.' She downed the rest of her drink. 'Please Elphie. Please let's just go.'

And this time I let her, feeling a secret sense of pride that she had held her ground. I walked towards the door, dreading being hit by the freezing air, and was surprised by something being thrown around my shoulders. I grasped hold of the thick, furry material and turned to where Galinda was standing behind me.

'Galinda?' I questioned.

'It's okay. I have many layers.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 12**

**A/N: I have another game for you guys. This one's called Spot the Minor Edit. In the last chapter, I changed one small detail in order to make it consistent with this one. You guys have to tell me, in a review, what that detail is. Since it's quite subtle, I will give you a clue. It takes place during the overlap between the two chapters.**

GALINDA

Was it love?

No, I thought – the phrase was far too strong. There was a thing enfolding me in the depths of desire, yes, but words failed for an adequate description. It was not a surface crush, nor an unadulterated obsession. It was not trivial, but it wasn't the overwhelming adoration described in love stories.

It was the sort of thing that made me notice the soft shiver as Elphie stepped out of the door of the Wilted Rose. I hadn't even paid attention to how cold it really was outside. I was all bundled up in layers of warm, expensive clothing. She couldn't have on more than one layer of thin, black material covering her skin.

_Give her your coat!_

The thought startled me out of my selfish manner. Once again I had been too wrapped up in myself and my silly argument with Pfannee. As the door to the cafe closed behind me, I wriggled out of the warm bundle of fur. I wasn't too much colder without it. Elphie walked ahead of me, her verdant hands rubbing her arms. It seemed awfully silly not to wear a coat in this kind of weather, but given her dour fashion sense, I wasn't terribly surprised.

So I slipped the warm coat over her shoulders. Her nails dug into the fur, tugging it closer to her body. She looked back at me with a confused glint in her eyes.

'Galinda?'

'It's okay,' I said. 'I have many layers.'

We strolled in silence – again, with the rift in our communication. I couldn't bear it. I didn't suddenly want to appear boring to her. That was what the case was if one had nothing to say, right? Or did she just not feel like talking? She moved quickly and I trotted behind her to keep up. I simply had to say something, to break this tension that had formed!

So I did.

'Elphie, we're going shopping tomorrow.'

She turned and quirked an eyebrow in my direction.

'I wasn't aware that you going shopping alone constituted a 'we',' she said.

'I'm not going alone. You're coming with me.'

'Galinda, the day I go shopping with you is the day you declare green your favourite colour, artichokes your favourite vegetable and grass your favourite landscape.'

I felt a slight sting. She was supposed to say yes because it was me who asked. Because she was my – friend – right? Or something. She was not supposed to pick now of all times to come back at me with one of her stupid one liners!

_Isn't that what you wanted?_ I suddenly thought. _For the conversation to come back? For the sarcasm and disagreeableness to return? Isn't it, Galinda?_

Yet it now felt like the whole week had unravelled back to the time before the Fiyero incident. Back when we weren't friends. Back when we threw sharp retorts at each other, spat horrible words and complained about each other. It should have felt normal, but it didn't. It was off, completely off, and that lump in my throat was all the bigger for it.

And that stupid slur about the green...I would have laughed at her once, but now I was shocked at how easily she could put herself down like that. I had already come to admit that it was a rather pretty green. Not classic. Exotic, maybe? Unique, definitely. Well, I was just going to have to do something about it.

'Fine then. Henceforth I declare green my favourite colour, artichokes my favourite vegetable and grass my favourite landscape.'

I was surprised how honest I sounded. Later I would come back to the statement and realise that perhaps it really was the case, that the obvious green of her skin really was the most pleasing sight I had ever seen. The nicknames (artichoke, green bean, vegetable), the allusions (ate grass as a child, saw green and thought it meant 'go'), once cruel, would lose their malice and become desirable. But now I merely spoke the words in an attempt to get Elphie to agree with me.

She turned on the spot. I shrank at the sight of dead cold eyes and the edge of anger in her features.

'Don't lie.' She spoke the words with ire. 'Don't you dare lie to me like that, Galinda Upland.'

'I wasn't...'

'Yes you were. Don't insult me like that. You know full well how much you hate the green.'

'But I don't...'

'Yes, Galinda, you do. Just admit it. Admit it, then leave me alone!'

'No, Elphie...'

I lunged forward and grabbed her hand. I didn't mean to, but when I did I squeezed it hard. She looked gobsmacked. So was I.

Then her expression melted and she relaxed.

'I'm sorry, my sweet. I didn't mean to yell at you.'

I stroked her hand with my thumb, struggling to process what had happened. I was mortified that she thought me a liar, but deep down, wondered if I deserved it after all the time spent making it known I had detested her skin. Was this the consequence of my past behaviour? That the only genuine friend I had thought me deceitful?

'I really don't hate it,' I repeated.

'No one's ever liked it before.'

_No one? Not one person?_

'Elphie...'

But the words had died once again, and we continued to walk. I was lost in a string of unhappy thoughts. Next to me walked a soul who had seen so much unkindness in her life that she thought me a liar for giving her a compliment. Tragic.

I thought it might be better to sound less forceful.

'Elphie, will you go shopping with me, please?' I asked.

She sighed.

'I don't have any money. There wouldn't be any point.'

'But I do. I have money. And I want to buy you a coat.'

'I have no need for such things.'

'Oh, but you do!' I protested. 'You must not deny yourself these things! Please, Elphie! Please let me buy you a coat.'

To my surprise, she did, though it wasn't without great reluctance. She trod behind me in her usual dowdy attire and clumpy boots. I took her into several of my favourite fashion boutiques but it was obvious that she hated them, and I found myself at a loss as to what to do. She kept putting aside any of my suggestions, declaring them too outrageous, too expensive or too pink.

'You know, for a supposed non-shopper, you can be incredibly picky,' I remarked, as we left the fourth store.

'I'm not picky. I just don't see the point in this.'

'The point, Elphie, is to get you a new coat.'

'I already told you I have no need of such things. And anyway, I could be studying right now.'

'Don't make excuses, Elphie, you're already getting straight A's in everything.'

We arrived at the fifth store. It was another favourite of mine, but I had an awful feeling that Elphie would hate it just as much as the last ones. I couldn't fathom the number of excuses she was making just to try and get out of shopping. It seemed a bit...childish...for someone like her. Shopping was supposed to be fun, but I was incredibly tired and just about ready to give this up.

But I would not give up. I would keep at it until I found something for her that satisfied both of us.

I scanned the numerous racks of clothes, searching for the coats. It was no use, I realised, going for something that I myself would wear. She just didn't do the expensive furs, animal (Animal? I probably ought to find out...) patterns, and frivolous embellishments. She did...black. Sometimes grey. Definitely not green.

_Well that's boring._

I scoured the coat racks, instantly rejecting most of them. This was positively the worst shopping trip I had ever been on! For the first time, I was getting a headache from it, a feat I had once deemed impossible. It didn't help that Elphie was standing closely behind me, tapping her foot in that irritating way.

Then, finally, I spotted it.

'Okay, Elphie, try this.'

Against my desire, the coat was black. It wasn't very complicated, and certainly not something I would be caught dead in, but it was thick and warm and not too unfashionable. Elphie would not be able to claim overextravagance or expense as an excuse not to buy it. And indeed, as she took it, she looked it over with (to my pleasure) a slight bit more interest than the last ones.

'This is better,' she admitted, and I beamed.


	13. Chapter 13

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 13**

**A/N: No one spotted the minor edit in chapter 11, but no worries, it was quite subtle. If you really want to know, it was the bit where Galinda throws the coat over Elphaba's shoulders. Originally they were still in the cafe when it happened, but I changed it to outdoors in order to be consistent with chapter 12.**

**13/09/2013: Chapter updated to resolve consistency problem.**

ELPHABA

Ten days.

Ten days had passed since I last spoke to Nessarose – a long time, considering I was supposed to be taking care of her daily. She was quite independent without me, which did not work in my favour of wanting to remain at Shiz University (but I chastised myself for such justifications – Nessa was not some pawn for me to use for personal gain).

She passed me by in classes. She retained her friendships with all of those girls that I hated, but I didn't stop her: one of us, at least, might as well have the joy of friends, and father would approve. The girls whispered their condolences to her that I was her sister, and she played the poor, victimised cripple, lapping up her praise.

I walked into Life Science on Monday morning, expecting to be treated with the cold shoulder, as I was used to. In a surprising turn, Galinda came and sat next to me instead of alone at the back of the room. She still looked uneasy around everyone else, but I felt a secret spread of warmth towards her for making the effort.

Nessarose arrived. I tried to drown out the sound of her voice as she chattered to her friends, but quickly realised it was coming towards me. I snapped my head up. Her hair had been curled into perfect ringlets, probably courtesy of Shenshen who was supposedly good with hair. Lately the curls had been making a more frequent appearance.

'Good morning, Nessa,' I greeted her.

'We need to talk.'

'Oh?'

'Do you have any idea what people are saying?' she hissed.

'That I'm a witch and Galinda forced herself on Fiyero?'

'No, not that! They're saying she's been getting around a lot, and you're her next victim!'

Galinda had all but disappeared into her chair. Fury and exasperation boiled within me.

'That is ridiculous.'

'Well they don't think so. Elphaba, I'm sorry, but you need to stop hanging out with Galinda. She's doing no good for either of our reputations. Think of what father would say! You've already angered him with that disgraceful display last week, but you might at least try to consider how your behaviour affects me as well! If I am to become the governor of Munchkinland I have to have an upstanding image.'

I stared at her in shock. I felt as though my whole life was being ripped from underneath my feet. First Shiz, and now Galinda. Galinda looked horrified at the situation. I looked between the two girls, my mind not made up. I knew that abandoning Galinda was the worst thing I could do for her, but Nessa was my sister and I had an obligation towards her.

For the first time, I was completely and utterly stuck. Nessa looked at me expectantly but I couldn't find any words to answer. No matter what I said, I was betraying someone. My own blood, or Galinda.

It should have been easy. Blood ought to have come first every time, but suddenly the concept seemed ridiculous. Had I not even treated as a servant of sorts by Nessa my entire life? She, certainly, would never have noticed that I was cold and bought me a coat. But Galinda had noticed my shiver, subtle though it was, and practically forced me on a shopping trip.

When had Galinda started to notice things anyway? At which point had she stopped thinking of herself and started to care about me, a monstrous atrocity with an obvious skin discolouration?

I couldn't. I couldn't give up the tiny bit of happiness I'd discovered, even though I would be forced away in a few weeks. I wanted to cling on as long as possible before returning to my empty existence in Munchkinland. And damn all that Nessa and my father would think of that decision.

'I will not give up my friendship with Galinda.'

Friendship? I wondered. Is that what it was now?

'But Elphaba...'

'No, Nessa. I won't. Our friendship has nothing to do with you.'

'I can't believe you,' Nessa said. 'I feel that you are determined to betray me.'

That word, again. It seemed to float around too much recently. Society was a cruel place of backstabbers and agendas, and even I was not immune to selfish desire. I had condemned people for their actions, yet here I was, as much a traitor as they all were.

It was worth it to see Galinda's face light up as Nessa wheeled her chair away, but I was still wracked with a guilty conscience. Later, in my spare time, I reviewed some of the scholarship material but kept seeing Nessa's face where the text was supposed to be. Once thirsty for information and knowledge, I had suddenly lost the ability to concentrate. The pages of facts replaced themselves with scoldings of betrayal and abandonment of obligation. I ought not try to stay at Shiz. My actions had already spoken for themselves.

With a defeated sigh I put the scholarship books away. They found a place in the back of my drawer where I could not see them, and could pretend they didn't exist. What was the use anyway? To live in denial like Galinda? To feel a tiny bit of fleeting hope, only to end up bitterly disappointed when I ended up having to leave?

Galinda was very giddy. She bounced around with a silly grin – for what reason, I had no idea. In fact, I was amazed that no tears had presented themselves at the onset of the new rumour about her, but didn't bring it up in fear of ruining her mood.

'I would have thought you'd be studying,' she said, as I sat on my bed watching her as she took down her hair from a complicated up-do. In truth, I had taken to watching her more often, making the most of every second, knowing that I didn't have long left before I would never see her again.

'Not tonight.'

'A miracle!' Galinda exclaimed. 'The day finally arrived where Elphie did not study! The sky must be pink! Elphie, you're not unwell are you?'

'No, my sweet.'

'Oh. Well then.' She picked up a plush, pink pillow and launched it in my direction. 'Pillow fight!'

I chuckled and flung it back at her. It might not last forever but at least, for now, I could feel a small semblance of content.


	14. Chapter 14

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 14**

**A/N: Special thanks to SwiftieLovaticGeek whose review made my day. Taking Galinda and Elphie's relationship at the right pace is incredibly important to me so I hope I continue to do it justice.**

**I am a bit worried about going OOC, especially with Galinda. I feel that the chapters have become much deeper than before, and while I want them to change and mature, I hope the changes are coming across as realistic.**

GALINDA

At first I mistook the meaning of the change in Elphie's demeanour. I was extremely positive that I had managed to bring out her sociable side, and felt ecstatic that I had been able to affect her so strongly. Her nose no longer met up with the pages of her novels, replacing those pages with a rather sudden interest in watching me do whatever I was doing. It was rather flattering, really, and I spent much time feeling giddy, similar to how I'd been with Fiyero not so long ago.

But as time passed, I began to notice something. The fire seemed to have died. Her usual wit was gone, her responses were too ordinary, and she was being far too nice to me, all things considered. Little irritants she used to have seemed to slip away. At first I thought this was a good thing because it meant she was accepting me, but after a while, it became out of character. She was letting me have my way all too often, not saying a word if I did something that normally annoyed her. And still, she slunk around with an air of something that had not been there previously. I wasn't sure what, but it was not a happy air.

Then she got a B in a history test and rendered me with no choice but to ask her about it.

'You got a WHAT?' I screeched. 'But Elphie, what about the scholarship? You've got to keep your grades up! You usually never get less than an A! Ephie what's going on? You have to tell me!'

She shrugged and put the offending paper aside. I had never seen her look so defeatist. It was a bit horrifying – usually she was the one defying everyone's expectations, but right now she looked as though she wanted to give up.

And then it hit me. And then I felt stupid for thinking I had been any kind of positive influence on her whatsoever.

'No!' I exclaimed. 'Don't tell me, Elphie! Don't tell me you're not doing the scholarship!'

'Okay then. I won't,' she mumbled.

'You have to! You have to in order to stay at Shiz!'

She didnt respond except to exhale a puff of air. In one second I felt my heart rip out of my chest and panic flood into me. A thousand scary, dizzying scenarios flew through my head – of drowning in loneliness if I was left alone; of friendlessness; of yet further humiliation. They were overwhelmed with an earthquake of betrayal, and yet somehow a layer of calm enveloped me and I stilled in my pleas, giving way to a quiet whimper of hurt.

'You lied to me.'

The guilt on her face was unbearable.

'I'm sorry, Galinda.'

'You said that you would stay.'

'No, you believed that I would. It isn't so simple, you know.'

'Whatever do you mean?'

'Galinda, even if I got a scholarship it wouldn't cover everything,' she responded. 'If I deliberately stayed a Shiz against my father's wishes, I would essentially be disowning myself from my family – including Nessa. Not only would I be betraying her, but where would I go out of term? The streets? It would be entirely impractical to leave my family right now.'

I winced. I hadn't even thought about that. Horrible images of Elphie wandering the streets in the dead of night flashed through my brain. Nightmarish suggestions of her green skin blistering in the rain chanted their words of death, destruction and awful things.

I thought of my parents at home, who loved me. No matter what, they would never put me in such a dreadful predicament. No matter what awful mistakes, or out of control magic displays, I made, they would still support me unconditionally. Elphie's father wouldn't.

For the first time I wondered how the world could be so unfair.

_Then do something about it!_

'You could live with me.'

The words were out of my mouth before I could think them through. All I noticed was that I needed to give Elphie some kind of option, any option, to stay at Shiz – because I didn't think I would be able to cope if she left. I did not spot the ludicrousness of my words, but of course, Elphaba did.

'You know you can't say things like that,' she responded. 'For one thing it's not up to you, but your parents. And would it really be practical taking in another entire human being?'

My shoulders slumped.

'I guess not.'

Still, I found myself getting very irritated with her. She was giving up her entire education and being stubbornly adamant that there was no other option for her. And I knew how much she thrived on education: she had been topping the class all year long (until now, that is), and was predicted to achieve the top score when she graduated. Yet she talked about it as if none of it mattered, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why!

'I don't understand,' I said again. 'I don't understand how you can just give it up without a fight.'

She had busied herself by taking down the braid in her hair. I watched her long fingers weave through the dark silk tresses, working out the knots until it was a beautiful, long mane.

'To be honest I should have seen it coming,' she said in a low tone.

I balked. 'What in Oz are you talking about?'

'I was lucky to be here at all. I shouldn't have been. If not for Nessarose, I wouldn't be.'

'Whyever not?'

'Because I don't deserve to be.'

Those fingers now no more than fidgeted with her loose strands of hair. I felt my own hands tremble. The atmosphere had suddenly turned dark, much darker than I had ever experienced. I hated it. I wanted to go back into my bubble of pink ignorance, but there was no going back now – I had overcome too much.

Here I stood, staring at the girl I thought was the most deserving of anyone in the whole of Oz to be at Shiz University. Yet her words of self-loathing condemned her to think she was unworthy. It was all so messed up. If anything, I ought to be the undeserving one.

'That's not true.'

'Yes, my sweet, it is.'

'How?' I demanded.

The next words were choked out in a frightening tone.

'Simple. I was born.'

.../...

ELPHABA

I felt exposed.

That someone should ask after my feelings, that someone could so openly declare a thing opposite of what I'd known my entire life...

It was like an unseen fault in an impenetrable armour. I instantly regretted my statement. It was the kind of thing that, once upon a time, I would have balked at the idea of revealing to Galinda Upland, of all people. It was too personal, too dangerous – too complicated for a girl like her to comprehend. Even now, now that she was finally thinking, still she stared at me with a questioning innocence laced with pity.

I silently hoped she would not call me out. It would be a lie for her to tell me I was wrong, because I wasn't, not with everything my life had been. She was thinking more, but she was still clueless and wrapped up in her fairytale lifestyle. For all her sweet words and unending optimisms, she just quite simply didn't get it.

My hope was futile.

'Oh, Elphie,' she said, coming over to my side, though I desperately wanted her to leave the room so I could wallow alone in my troubles. 'Your being born has changed me. I would not be the same without you.'

She crawled onto my bed with me and rested her head in my lap. I stroked her golden locks with a heavy heart. There she was with the marshmallows again: sweet though they were, they were empty of truth to my ears.

'Aren't there prettier things to present your affections to?'

'Recently I have lost my taste for classic beauty.'

I was dazed. I actually really did wonder if I was dreaming. I was convinced I would wake up to Galinda perfecting her creamy locks in the mirror, tweezing a stray brow hair or redoing her mascara as it was only ninety-nine percent perfect the last time. She was a classic beauty, even among the best of that category, I thought. And me...I was the ugly green freak, if I was even lucky enough to acquire a title.

'No you haven't. You still adore all those _Ozmopolitan_ models. Not to mention your own reflection,' I couldn't help quipping.

'Well appearances are important you know!' she retorted, bolting upright, and I smirked. That was better. A hand flew to her mouth. 'Oh, but I didn't mean...Elphie, you...'

I couldn't quite suppress a cackle as I watched her struggle with her words.

'It's okay, my sweet, I know what you meant.'

She sighed and lay back down on my lap.

'Please do the scholarship,' she said. 'I know you think it's pointless and that you'll leave anyway, but just do it. Because you're capable of it. That way you have something to be proud of.'

And I found myself agreeing even though I'd had no intention to do so. Damn that beautiful, blonde hair and all the bubbles in Oz.


	15. Chapter 15

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 15**

**A/N: *looks around* Where did all the reviewers go?**

**I've got another game of Spot the Musical Reference for this chapter. Remember, in your review you have to tell me what the reference is in the chapter. Okay? Go!**

**PS - I am really, REALLY looking forward to the next chapter. :D**

ELPHABA

Nessarose finally caved.

Not to my friendship with Galinda, but the fact that being taken care of solely by Madame Morrible was indeed more humiliating than being associated with me. She had come to me, full of complaints that some aspects if her care were too private for Nessa to want the HeadShiztress to get involved. Like bathing. Then she had quite helpfully reminded me that it was my duty to care for her, even though she hadn't wanted me around in the first place, and through my sense of sisterly obligation, I had agreed to continue to tend to her.

'Just don't bring Galinda,' she'd said, and I had complied easily. There would be no point in bringing Galinda anyway.

I knocked on the door to Madame Morrible's suite. I heard the familiar sound of the door being unlocked, followed by the fishy appearance of Madame Morrible in a faded pink dressing gown, who raised an eyebrow but let me in nonetheless.

Nessa sat by the window, staring out of it. I coughed and she turned around looking reproachful. She followed me into the bathroom where I ran the hot water, careful not to touch it, and undressed my sister. I then moved to the bathroom cabinet to fetch a pair of gloves which would enable me to bathe her properly without worrying about my allergy. Carefully I carried her out of the chair and into the bath, taking in the sight of her mangled legs which I was so familiar with.

Throughout the whole thing, she did not say a word. As usual I felt a twinge of regret at the sight of those legs which were not long and beautiful like they ought to be, but twisted and discoloured, the product of milk flowers and a premature delivery. Once more, a familiar thought crossed my mind – At least she's not green – and I sighed at the faded memory of her horrible birth.

Milk flowers. Brought about by my pigmentation, their properties were far crueller than anyone could have imagined. All because my father did not want Nessa to be green. All because I was born.

Later, when I was finished with Nessa, I returned to my dorm and was engrossed with an essay when Galinda returned to the room.

'I got you dinner,' she said.

'You really don't have to do that.'

'I know. That's what makes me so nice,' she giggled.

She set down a plate in front of me and took away my books and essay. I quirked an eyebrow, surprised not to be annoyed by the action.

'Thank you, my sweet.'

She beamed her precious smile and I felt warmth spread through me. I realised it was the first time I had been on the receiving end of such an action. Normally I was the giver: to Nessa, my care, which included getting her ready each day, bringing her meals, making sure she had everything she needed; to my father, service and good behaviour to make up for the consequences of my existence; to my peers, the cold shoulder as they hurled difficult, painful words at me and showered me in rejection.

And then there was Galinda, to whom I had offered my comfort and protection from the harsh realm of rumour spreaders. I had not expected her to return the favour. I had expected that, once she was back to her sunny self, she would cease to lean on me and I would be alone once again. Instead she was bringing me dinner.

Suddenly I felt tears spring to my eyes.

'Elphie? What's wrong?'

I shook my head and blinked the tears away. I didn't fancy burning my eyelids. All of a sudden I had an urge to want to be near Galinda; to hold her tight and stroke that beautiful, golden, silky mess of hair that she spent so long curling each day. I had been reluctant to leave her before but the idea was becoming rapidly more horrifying as the days went by. When had I suddenly become so dependent on her that I thought I would be lost without her?

I focused on my food, disinclined to want to think about it. I was eager to get back to my essay: The pages I had once rejected now became a convenient distraction from the looming date which marked the end of term – and therefore my departure from Shiz.

The urge did not dissipate. As I ate, I longed to toss the food aside and curl up with Galinda under that plush, pink duvet of hers and many pillows.I told myself to abandon the thought, in favour of independence and self-sufficiency, but it would not yield – in fact, it grew stronger the more I tried not to think about it. Whatever this was, it was something I had never experienced, yet it rendered me warm and comfortable, a far cry to the awkwardness around Nessa and disdain directed at the rest of my peers.

'Galinda -' I said before I could stop myself. I didn't know exactly what I intended to tell her, just that there was something pressing on my insides, trying to get out. She looked at me fondly and I looked away, confused by her expression.

'Yeah,' she replied.

'Never mind.'

'Well, sweet Oz, Elphie, of course I mind!' she huffed and returned to her side of the room and flung herself onto her bed. I stared, puzzled, at her petite figure lying on the bed. I hadn't said much of anything and yet I appeared to have offended her. My mind was reeling: why oh why had I spoken?

She didn't move for about ten minutes. In the meantime I finished my food and started back on the essay, but my concentration was long gone. All I could think of was the silent blonde whose bubbly persona seemed to have disappeared at the mere mention of her name.

Finally she rose and came and stood behind me. I felt the presence of a hand on my shoulder and instinctively stiffened, then relaxed. Against my will a tear rolled down my cheek, stinging my face. She wiped the tear with a dainty finger, the touch calming me somewhat.

'I'm not used to being loved,' I confessed. The damn crying refused to stop. 'My whole life...I chose to remain indifferent to any form of emotion because it was easier than feeling hurt by it all.'

Soft hands moved through my hair, slowly unravelling my braid and tracing patterns around my scalp. My cheeks were on fire, but still, the rivers would not let up.

'And now...now I can't not feel, which is perfectly awful timing because I don't know how I'm going to hold myself together if I lose you.'

Those hands were glorious – they were the reason I had not yet crumpled to the floor, overwhelmed by my emotions. They left me for a moment, and the next thing I felt was a tissue being pressed into my palm. Still, I kept my head turned from Galinda, certain that I did not want her to see the hideous marks that were bound to be on my face. I hastily wiped my eyes, trying to stop the weeping.

'You won't lose me,' Galinda responded. 'I'll still be your friend no matter what happens. And anyway, if I get my way, you won't be going anywhere anytime soon.'

'You don't know that!'

'Maybe not. But I have faith.'

'Faith would imply that I believed in souls. I deal with facts and theories. Not faith.'

'Well then,' she replied, 'I'll have to have enough faith for both of us.'

Somewhere in that, she had come to kneel down beside me. Her eyes, so captivating, pulled me into a powerful stare, in which I saw pools of belief radiating from the depths of her soul.

She leaned in and kisses me on the cheek.

'I have an idea,' she announced. She bounded over to her desk and started scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Not five minutes later she rose from her seat and skipped out of the room.

My fingers brushed the spot where she had kissed me. It was slightly sticky from her lip gloss.


	16. Chapter 16

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 16**

**A/N: I am so, SO excited for this chapter! I think you guys will enjoy it (though Fiyero lovers will probably hate it). That said I hope it comes across realistically, and if not, please tell me in a review.**

**Speaking of reviews, well done to those who got the reference. If you didn't know, it was from 'Popular' - 'You really don't have to do that.' 'I know. That's what makes me so nice.'**

**No musical reference this chapter, it just didn't seem fitting.**

**Also, AAAHHH I passed 50 reviews! Yay! Thanks guys! :D**

GALINDA

I felt so, so stupid.

How had I not thought of it before? It ought to have been the first thing I thought of on hearing of Elphie's predicament. I didn't stop too long to ponder though – helping Elphie was more important than cursing my idiocy.

I scribbled my letter as quickly as I was able. I didn't even consider whether I wanted to use light pink ink on dark pink paper, or dark ink on light paper, just grabbing the first bits of stationery that I saw. I ended up with dark ink on dark paper but never mind – the message was far too urgent for it to matter.

As soon as it was finished I hurried out of the room to post it. I was running so fast that I hurtled around a corner and promptly crashed directly into someone and we tumbled over in a heap.

'Sorry!' I exclaimed. I scrambled to my feet and was about to run off again when I realised who it was. I froze and my stomach clenched. I turned around and stared straight into those blue eyes I used to love.

'Fi – Fiyero,' I stammered.

He smirked. 'Running to do the green girl's bidding, are you?'

I was paralysed. Flashes of memories reeled through my head, a twisted pantomime of harsh words and blood and pain. My hand subconsciously brushed my cheek where there were faint white marks, reminders of the injury I had suffered. I did not mention that I was, sort of, in a way, doing 'the green girl's bidding'.

'So what's she paying you with, sexual favours?'

I straightened my shoulders as best I could. My whole body was trembling, but I mustered up what little courage I had.

'The g- green girl has a n – name,' I stuttered.

'And what would that be? Greenie?'

_'Elphaba_ is far more than just her green skin.'

'Oh yeah. She's definitely spelled you. She was so desperate that...'

THWACK.

My hand whacked Fiyero's cheek. He yelped and staggered backwards, clutching his face with a grimace. My breathing was shallow, my tear ducts threatening. I swallowed.

'S – stay away from me!' I stammered.

'Whoa, feisty aren't you? Greenie's rubbing off on you. Literally!' he chortled.

I was bright red.

'Stay away,' I repeated, and I ran for it. I heard his voice call out a few more remarks but didnt stop to comment. I was too engrossed with the mental images he had planted in my head, images which I would rather not have been thinking about at the moment. Emerald, oiled baby skin ensnaring my senses. Shiny sheaths of midnight silk tresses cascading down her body to her skinny waistline. The soft brush of her lips against mine –only in my imagination of course, for I didn't think I had it in me to request it of her.

I realised I would have to wait until tomorrow to deliver the letter. The post office would be closed at this time.

I thought about returning to the dorm but didn't think I felt like it. I would have to face the dim reality of friendship in comparison to my beautiful visions of love. The live Elphie, of course, would be far more magnificent a sight than a memory, but would leave me yearning for her much more. Sighing, I headed outside and tried to quell those thoughts. They would do me no good, especially if my plan failed.

I stared into the crowd of pine trees that encompasses the grounds of Crage Hall, relaxing in their scent. Their leaves rustled in a gentle breeze. Above them, stars twinkled in the clear, dark sky, visible even through the haze of the outdoor lights. The scenery was devoid of negativity, empty of profane language and cruel intent. The only other place I felt so peaceful was with Elphie, but I tried to ignore that.

I could almost compare it to my home in Frottica, but even that was not without its struggles. I had grown up in a society where appearances were key to success – that is, after all, why I had worked so hard to become popular here. But the pretentiousness took its toll, leaving me tired and on edge with meticulous control over my behaviour. I remained without opinion while deep down yearning to question the opinions of others, but that would never do, so I squashed down my desire to think and lived in an ignorant bubble of loneliness. Now, looking back, I realised there had been nothing peaceful about it.

I was met with exhaustion. My riled up feelings soon became dead - I no longer had it in me to experience such heightened feelings. I might have fallen asleep right there on the concrete floor, but my ladylike tendencies rendered me above such things, no matter how much I wanted to. I forced myself to turn around and move. Bed was calling me, even if it meant seeing Elphie. And maybe, just maybe, her presence would calm me as it so often did these days.

I was struck with the thought, as I walked through the empty Shiz corridors, that Crage Hall was a decidedly odd place for Fiyero to be at night. He was probably with Pfannee doing Lurline only knows what, maybe even the very thing I said 'no' to. I knew I ought not make anything of it when technically I had rejected him, but that didn't stop a pool of jealousy from forming in my stomach.

_Well sweet Oz, Galinda, he is perfectly entitled to have sex with whoever he wants._

Then, a contradiction:

_Stupid girl, you should have taken the opportunity! This was FIYERO of all people!_

I could have figured out the rest later. Maybe I would have even enjoyed it, but I hadn't even given him a chance.

My fault. My fault for leading him on and provoking him to hit me.

I found myself outside of Pfannee's door, frozen and listening intently. The noises spoke for themselves.

With the familiar waterfall streaks, I turned and fled back to my dorm. I halted outside the door, my fingers resting on the handle.

Oh. Elphie.

Sweet Oz, I had forgotten.

I stood there, torn between wanting to see her and feeling like a hateful betrayer. Thoughts of both Elphie and Fiyero mingled, bringing with them notions that I was a horrendible human being, unable to sort out my feelings for both of them. I wanted Fiyero...and I wanted Elphie.

I was supposed to hate Fiyero, but I couldn't, not when it was my fault in the first place. I was supposed to have hated Elphie too, but now she was the only person in the whole of Shiz that I trusted.

My fingers traced the faint marks on my cheek. I couldn't tell Elphie about Fiyero. She would think me shallow again. She would be quite right too, but I was too selfish to own up and risk her friendship.

I swallowed, wiped my eyes and pushed the door open. There was no sense in going anywhere else.

'You took off in a hurry,' Elphie remarked from behind the pages of her scholarship book. I decided not to mention how my lack of coherent thought had led to a failed conquest of trying to deliver a letter. Instead I huffed and started to get ready for bed.

'Well this is quite a mood swing,' Elphie continued. 'What in Oz could have happened to make your bubbles pop?'

_Oh no,_ I thought. _Please don't start another sarcastic tirade. I don't think I could handle it right now._

'My bubbles are quite intact.'

'Evidently. Let me guess...you broke a heel...'

_'Elphie!'_

I had to stop her, stop the predictableness of the situation. It seemed a fallback, a safety net filled with sharp nails that stabbed me in the gut and reminded me of that Oz-forsaken line of friendship that I yearned to step past. But then, I had been so willing to betray her for Fiyero...what in Oz was I doing, messing around like this?

_Hateful._

I had never thought it of myself. It must have been hiding under the denial that I was, in fact, so goodly. How could I have ever believed that?

'Galinda? What's the matter?'

Her voice, suddenly filled with genuine concern. Memories: Fiyero; Elphie; Fiyero again; and backstabbing people and liars and Elphie's warm embrace...

Yet more waterworks. So much for my bubbles being intact.

I spilled everything.

.../...

ELPHABA

In an entire bedroom full of scenery there could have been just Galinda and I and a blank, black space. I was far too aware of her hunched shoulders and downcast eyes whose blues were concealed by her eyelids; the gentle tremble of her tiny body and one hand running through her hair repeatedly; the timid stutter of her disjointed words and phrases spilling from her swollen, pink lips with down turned corners.

Then, as she confessed her woes, I was ripped in two as my heart and mind battled for dominance, my entire rationale mobbed by an army of confusion, swinging me in two very different directions at once. It was so much that I didn't notice my lack of response until Galinda's eyes finally rose to question me – and I realised that I didn't know what to say.

_Tell her it's okay,_ the logical part of myself was saying – only it wasn't. It wasn't okay that she was confused about Fiyero: did she not remember what he did to her? How could she so easily put aside the pain she must have felt from that nasty wound he had inflicted on her gorgeous face? I couldn't forget her swollen, bloody cheek, the ocean of tears, the fear, the insecurity. The memories were branded into my brain, filling me with rage every time they came to the surface.

I became aware of my own body trembling. Still I couldn't speak.

I was giving Galinda the wrong impression, I knew – she was turning away slowly and tearfully and I ought to have broken the silence by saying something, anything –

'I love you.'

And suddenly, everything became still.

Was I lost in a beautiful freeze frame of her glorious figure? A dream sequence in which I confessed my love and could dare to have it reciprocated? Would I wake up, buried underneath my thin duvet, Galinda sleeping in the next bed, with the disappointing notion that it wasn't real?

She rotated again, in slow motion, the light falling on one side of her face and highlighting her curls; the soft sway of her hips forcing my gaze; eyes bright, questioning, uncertain; lips parted in a tiny pout.

'You love me,' she mumbled.

A tiny nod of affirmation on my part. I was sure now. There was no doubt about it.

'You don't hate me.'

A shake of the head. I couldn't hate her. Fiyero, on the other hand...

'How?'

I shrugged. Not long ago love had been nothing more than a silly little girl's fantasy. It was a thing I had pushed to the side, told myself was unnecessary and would never happen to me anyway.

I didn't consider myself the type to fall in love.

Apparently love doesn't have a type.

'Do you love me?'

I felt like a child, dependent on another person, weak in the knees and mentally begging again and again that she would say yes because if she didn't, I would be destroyed.

'Um...'

Anticipation. Agony. Please, Galinda, just tell me.

A stretching silence. A silence of being unable to bear letting me down? Or a silence of trying to find the words?

The wringing of her hands. A badly concealed squirm.

More trembling. Please, Galinda. Oh, please.

'I want to. I'm scared.'

'Of what, my sweet?'

Her eyes darted towards the door. Oh. That. Again. I swallowed my frustration – the same thing, every single damn time.

'You're better than them.'

'I know. But...'

'Do you want this?' I interrupted.

The hand in the hair. A shaky breath.

The teensiest, tiniest nod, but a nod nonetheless.

My heart soared.

'Then I will give you time. Promise me you will use it to figure things out.'

'Yeah.'


	17. Chapter 17

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 17**

**A/N: I just wanted to say a special thanks to the guest reviewer, Jmonet2001. Your review made me really happy. :)**

GALINDA

Elphie loved me.

How joyful for one's feelings to be reciprocated. How happy and giddy I could now be. Nothing else mattered, not my reputation, not any of my peers, not anything else in the world – I told myself in an obviously forced manner. Even I had to admit that this was not the delightful occasion it ought to be. I felt as though I was living in two separate worlds at the same time: the one in which I wanted Elphie more than anything, and the one in which I was desperate to win back Fiyero.

How very complicated.

Come morning I posted my letter with quivering hands. I worried, on my way back to Crage Hall, that something awful was bound to happen: it would get lost, or stolen, or something, because that really would be just my luck. But even more so, as I made my way to my next lesson, I worried about seeing Elphie and Fiyero in the same room.

I lost myself in the crowd of students, keeping my head down and my eyes low, trying not to catch a glimpse of Elphie's obvious green skin, or Fiyero's stunning, blue eyes. For several seconds I convinced myself that I would not have to see them, that I could pretend they weren't there, but of course Elphie was going to find me, like usual, and sit next to me. And of course I was going to end up spending the entire class agonising over what to do. I wanted Elphie so, so badly...but Fiyero. Stupid Fiyero with his hands locked into horrible Pfannee's, and ugly noises coming from the bedroom, making me want to scream and rip them far, far away from each other. Cruel Pfannee, taking what had been mine and claiming it as hers.

For all that I loved Elphie, it shouldn't have mattered. It did.

Because it hurt, no matter how much I wanted Elphie. And not only did I want Fiyero, but I missed Pfannee as well. Horrid though she was, we'd had some good times together. I had seen the good in her – once upon a time, before the Fiyero fiasco – but now I mourned that the little good she had was clouded by spite.

What in Oz was I supposed to do?

There. There Elphie was in all her magnificent verdigris. Instinctively I took a breath and quickly flicked my eyes away. She was making me feel too intense. Degree be damned, I would never be able to concentrate in a lecture again. And the look on her face, one which I had seen on so many guys' faces, saying 'I want you', was the strongest I had ever seen.

'You disappeared at lunch,' she commented.

'Now Elphie, you do know that you are the only person in the whole of Shiz with enough magic to make someone actually disappear.'

Elphie looked shocked.

'Wow. Galinda, I do believe you sounded like me for a moment. I didn't die and get reincarnated into your body, did I?'

I burst into giggles. This was the kind of banter I loved. The non-awkward, not too deep stuff that used to annoy me to death but had now become our main way of interaction. I played along and put on my best serious face, but couldn't quite hide my silly grin.

'No, Miss Elphaba, you couldn't have possibly, else you wouldn't be standing in front of me. Unless you are merely an apparition and I am indeed you.'

'Well how about that. The ghost of the green girl has returned to haunt Shiz.'

I leaned forward – then pulled back, realising what I had been about to a tiny cough I turned towards the front of the lecture theatre, wondering when the lecture would start, and wondering even more how the action had come so naturally.

Elphie didn't say another word.

Thereafter, I waited for a response to my letter. A day went by, then two, then three, and I started to worry that perhaps it hadn't been received. Elphie questioned me a couple of times, when I huffed about the lack of mail that had arrived, but I held my tongue, wanting to surprise her. She would be so, so happy once she realised that there was, indeed, a way for her to remain at Shiz. I just prayed she would see things my way and not act too stubborn about it.

After a full week had passed I felt frantic and on edge. With the end of term drawing ever closer I knew I was running out of time to sort out this mess. What in Oz had happened to the letter? I was positive I had sent it, had even declared it an emergency, so why was I being ignored? Was this my punishment for being such an awful person, that I would not be able to save Elphie?

'Miss Galinda?'

I halted in my tracks on my way to the dining room. Scarce few people spoke to me these days, unless it was a matter of importance. A boy, who I think was in his final year, was addressing me.

'Yes?'

'I've been asked to inform you that you have a visitor.'

'Thank you.'

I turned on my heels and walked the other way. I felt a slight sting which had occurred on and off recently, that other than Elphie, this stiff, formal way of communication was the only kind of conversation I seemed to have with anyone, and even that was with great reluctance. I headed to the entrance of Crage Hall, wondering who could possibly have come to visit me. When I arrived, my jaw dropped.

'POPSICLE?!'

I bounded up to my father and embraced him in a tight hug, relief flooding through me and lifting a gigantic weight off my shoulder. Thank Oz, my letter had arrived after all!

'Hello, my little Galinda,' he said.

He was a big, burly man with a receding hairline, dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase.

'I'm so glad you're here! You can help me, right? Please say you can help!'

He chuckled.

'Of course I can help. But why don't we go and have lunch first? I'm sure there must be lots you are dying to tell me about Shiz.'

I giggled and we walked to the Wilted Rose. In truth there were many things that I did not want to talk about. The whole term had been a gigantic roller coaster. I had swung from being on a massive high to a humongous low, and was somersaulting through a confusifying mixture of greatness and awfulness at the same time.

I chattered vaguely about how I was doing in classes, and what the people were like.

'Elphie is very motivating. She forces me to study. I used to hate it, but it's helped a lot.'

'Funny how you used to hate her,' said my father, and I sheepishly recalled my first letters ranting about the terrible roommate I was forced to reside with.

'Oh she's not so bad as I thought. Actually she has rather become my best friend.'

'One of many, I'm sure.'

I didn't respond. He would be so disappointed if he found out how I lost all of my friends by leading on Fiyero. Taking a bite of salad I tried to quell the sadness. My fault.

'So what about the boy you were dating?'

Oh. My. Oz. I had forgotten I'd told him that. It was only natural that he would ask. Now what was I supposed to do? I couldn't tell him and reveal how horrendible I had been. He would be so disappointed. _Quick, Galinda, say something to get out of this!_

I plastered a smile on my face.

'Oh – well, you see, Fiyero and I had a long talk and we agreed that there was simply too much fun to be had at university to bother with things like dating. You know how he just _loves_ to dance through life. Anyhow, there will be plenty of time for relationships later on.'

Deep down I was horrified by my words. It was like when I had first arrived at Shiz, twisting every word and phrase in my favour in order to leave a good impression. I hadn't seen it back then, but now I could identify it as falsehood, I felt dreadful. I ought not be saying these things, but once again I selfishly hid the truth for the sake of seeming goodly.

I could no longer do it as easily as I used to. I was unable to brush off the notion of wrongdoing like all the times before. Already I could hear Elphie's stern telling off as she reminded me what a shallow and superficial person I was, and that I was being dishonest. How could she love me, such an atrocious being?

My father's kind words, praising my mature decision, echoed somewhere in the distance. He must have been talking about someone else because I was not that girl.


	18. Chapter 18

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 18**

**A/N: Regarding the name of Galinda's father: I know some people have made up names for Galinda's parents, but I decided to use the names that were given in the 'Wicked' books. So Galinda's father's name is Highmuster Arduenna.**

ELPHABA

Never in my life had I been so plagued with insecurity. The experience was eye opening. I was finally beginning to understand things which I had once scorned as ridiculous: things like wondering if my confession to Galinda had been futile after all, since a full week later she had still mentioned nothing of it; dreading that she might come to me and apologise that, actually, she didn't feel that way about me; waiting in anticipation for her to say anything at all that would provide me with clarity.

It seemed a lifetime ago that I had once thought the concept of heartbreak was ridiculous; that you were a fool to wear your heart on your sleeve only to have it stolen and destroyed. In fact, I was the fool for not realising that falling in love was not a choice. I certainly had not chosen to love Galinda. My life would be easier if I hadn't, but I would never take back my words. She was too wonderful not to love.

She was hiding something from me, but I didn't push her too hard to tell – it was obvious she was planning on coming to me eventually, so I put my curiosity at bay and waited. I was in the middle of some scholarship work when I found out. She flung open the bedroom door, removed my books from my line of sight, grabbed my arm and rushed me outdoors, all before I had time to even greet her properly.

'Where in Oz are we going?' I demanded.

'Just wait,' she said, and giggled.

'You do realise we have a lecture in ten minutes...'

'Lectures be damned, this is too important.'

She brisk walked at a pace that was hard to keep up with. I soon realised we were leaving the Shiz grounds. I grumbled a couple more weak protests, but in reality her face was far too excited to not simply go along with whatever she was doing. We arrived outside of an inn. I was fairly sure it was the one my father had stayed at for a couple of nights at the beginning of semester, to make sure that Nessarose was settled.

It was a large, concrete inn in one of the nicer areas of Shiz. It was also expensive, providing temporary lodgings to rich, upper class families. Stepping inside, I took in the smooth, marble floor, the lobby of plush sofas and chairs, chandeliers on the ceiling and a grand staircase which spiralled elegantly up the middle of the building. Some might consider it an artwork.

'There's someone I want you to meet,' Galinda said, as we started to climb the stairs. When my father had been here, he had taken a ground floor room so that Nessarose could have easy access, so it was my first time going up the spiral staircase. As we got higher I could feel myself getting dizzy and hoped we weren't going to a too high floor.

Luckily we stopped on the fourth and Galinda took my hand and dragged me down a corridor. I barely had time to notice the plush, vivid carpets and bright, expensive ceiling lights before she rapped on a door, number 417, and squirmed excitedly as we waited for it to open. In the back of my mind I remembered the lecture that I was now missing in order to follow Galinda's whimsical nature. I wasn't one for skiving so this had better be worth it.

The door opened.

A tall man in a business suit stood at its entrance. He smiled warmly at Galinda who immediately encased him in a hug. I wasn't sure what to do so I stood in silence and waited.

'Popsicle, I brought Elphie,' said Galinda, and it finally hit me who the man was.

On second glance I noticed that he had exactly the same blue eyes as Galinda. He looked at me and started, and I suppressed a groan: Galinda, for all of her rambling letters complaining of her initial hatred of me, had failed to mention my skin colour.

'Hello, Elphaba, it's nice to meet you,' he said, once he recovered. 'Galinda's told me much about you. My name is Highmuster Arduenna of the Upper Uplands. Galinda's father.'

Did they all use the 'of the Upper Uplands' title when they introduced themselves? And what in Oz was he doing at Shiz now of all times?

'Elphie, popsicle's going to help you,' Galinda explained as he beckoned us inside. 'He works with money. I was thinking about your Oz-forsaken predicament, and I couldn't believe how silly I was not to think of this in the first place. I was all too hung up in the terrible nightmare of you maybe having to leave Shiz that my head must have been in the clouds…'

'Is your head not always in the clouds?' I interrupted.

'_Not_ the point! The fact of the matter is, there is absolutely no way in Oz that you are leaving Shiz, no matter what. Do. You. Understand?'

My head spun. On one hand I wanted to pull Galinda aside and give her a good dressing down for going behind my back meddling with my life and involving a third party without consulting me. I did not want my affairs on display for others to try to tell me what they thought I should do about it. It was my life, my choices, my problem to solve. On the other hand, I was drawn in to the excitement on her face; the unending hope and optimism that she carried about her persona. She looked as though she was about to burst, and I couldn't bear to hurt her. She was trying, for my sake. And the thought of staying at Shiz really was very appealing.

I nodded, lost for words.

Galinda beamed.

'So what I want to do is talk you through a few things. Mostly it's going to be about independently living on a low budget, managing money, making ends meet, that sort of thing.'

'Independently living…?' I repeated, and suddenly realised something. 'Wait, that would be under the assumption that I leave home. I have no intention of doing that. I have to take care of Nessa.'

'Elphie, if you get pulled from Shiz you won't be taking care of Nessarose anyway,' Galinda interrupted. I winced, and realised she had a point.

'But my father,' I continued. 'He's my family. My only family.'

'Some family he is,' Galinda muttered, 'trying to pull you from Shiz.'

My heart felt heavy. I felt like I was being forced to make a radical decision in a too short space of time. Abandon my family…or leave Shiz. I mentally cursed Galinda for acting like it was all so simple. Could she not see that it wasn't? Well, of course not, it was Galinda after all. And she was providing me with the only solution that seemed possible…but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take it.

'How about I talk you through it anyway,' said Highmuster Arduenna. 'You don't have to do anything right away. Just think about it. At the end of the day, it's up to you if you decide to do this or not.'

I nodded gratefully.

We talked for a couple of hours. It was mostly him suggesting things I hadn't thought of, like getting a student job at Shiz in order to save up money, and getting a low-budget apartment during the holidays. He also talked about various forms of financial aid that I could apply for that would supplement the scholarship. It was all very complicated and confusing, but I took in as much as I could, just in case I did decide to leave home.

When we returned to Crage Hall I felt stressed and tired. Galinda seemed bound and determined that this was the perfect solution, but her words irked me and I found myself shutting her out, not wanting to think about it. I envied her simplistic outlook. If she was me, she would take off in a nanosecond, albeit she probably wouldn't realise the consequences until they had already happened. But I couldn't afford that. I had to consider this proposition from every angle.

That night I had a dream. It used to be a recurring dream in my childhood, but it had been a while since I last had it. The dream was about my mother while she was pregnant with Nessarose. She lay in a large bed with silk sheets, caressing her pregnant stomach and chewing the Oz-forsaken milkflowers. Her chocolate eyes gazed into the distance, bright from the drugs and red around the edges. Suddenly, she started bleeding and screaming, and the white sheets became drenched with red, and Nessarose came early with her mangled, twisted legs. Then my mother collapsed onto the bed, dead and unmoving, and I woke up drenched with sweat, terrified, with the feeling that I was nothing more than a massive burden to other people.

I went into the bathroom and dabbed my face with oil. My skin was mildly inflamed with faint, pink smudges that stung badly. I took off my nightgown and started to dab my body, wincing as the soft cloth brushed my skin. I worked silently, not wanting to wake Galinda. It would only be another way in which I burdened her, and I had done so much of that already.

I had been incredibly aware of her demeanour of the last week. Since my confession, she had become insecure in my presence. Because of me, she now had to make a choice. Perhaps, I thought, it would have been easier for her if I'd kept my feelings to myself. But I was selfish, and couldn't help myself. I wanted her so, so badly.

As I finished tending to myself, I was left with a feeling of distinct bipolarisation. I yearned for the sweet softness of Galinda's skin; the kiss of her lips; the lilt of her lovely, angelic voice and marshmallow words. There was also another yearning: a secret desire for words of praise; a simple compliment or even just a form of acknowledgement; a different kind of 'I love you' from a man who had shunned me all my life. It would never happen, yet I couldn't stand to rip myself away from it.

I couldn't have both. I had to choose…just like Galinda.

And suddenly I understood how she felt.

And I vowed to myself that I would give her time, wait for her, and pray that she made up her mind before the dreaded end of term. So that I might have her, no matter for how short a period of time that may be.


	19. Chapter 19

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 19**

**A/N: I didn't mean for it to happen, ok? This chapter just went in a totally different direction to what I intended. I tried, honestly I did, but these fictional characters are so damn stubborn. I mean, what was I supposed to do, ignore the pleas of Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands to take the story in her own direction? Whimsical girl. Well now look, this story has thrown me a curve ball, which should shake things up a little bit. :)**

**And yay, 60 reviews! Keep them coming! :)**

**Also, I have decided that I absolutely LOVE writing dream sequences. They are so much fun! *hint for the chapter***

GALINDA

Thud.

The noise dragged me back to the reality which was not the world of applying last minute touches to my mascara. Screwing the lid back onto the wand I turned around – and paused in confusion.

Elphie had left. Without me.

I flung down the wand with a gigantic huff, gutted. With a quiet growl I quickly gathered my books together and flounced out of the room. I had expected, this morning, that the lack of chatter was due to the fact that it was, well, morning. I was certainly not much of a speaker when I was still sleepy, so I had assumed the same of Elphie.

Only now, she had confirmed the nagging suspicion which I had ignored. Elphie didn't want to talk to me – period.

The corridors stretched taller and wider without the usual rush of people to fill them. I pondered the notion that I had become all too dependent on Elphie's constant nagging to hurry up in the morning. I hadn't been late for three weeks straight, but now, here I was, on the very verge of it, on the first day I had been left to my own devices. And it hurt. Badly.

It didn't help that I was feeling hormonal and my stomach was killing me.

I dashed into the lecture theatre and took my usual seat beside Elphie, sending her a quick smile in the process. To my dismay she kept her head down and continued to scribble her notes without even cracking a smile let alone looking at me. If it wasn't for the fear of mortal embarrassment I might have screamed out loud right there in the middle of the theatre, but I was a lady and had to watch myself.

I spent the lecture squirming in my seat and trying not to bash my head against the table. I had wanted Elphie to like my idea so, so badly that I had completely forgotten that this was _Elphie_ of all people, and she was a genius at spotting flaws in everything. And I had somehow managed to miss an incredibly fundamentally important aspect of the plan: family bonds. I must have been the stupidest person in Oz to think that Elphie would leave her family that quickly, just because I asked her to.

_Just one more thing to add to my list of horrendible behaviours._

The Oz-damned room was trying to suffocate me with its thick, heavy, not breathable air, uncomfortable seating and hours of endless, boring natter about whatever subject this was, which had completely escaped my mind this morning when I was arranging my books. I wasn't even sure if I had the right books. This could be Life Science, or History, or Literature…it was all the same today, when all I could focus on was the green enigma beside me, and her decision to treat me silently.

How in Oz was I supposed to withstand this?

A wave of pain overcame my stomach, which I grasped tightly as the cramp intensified. I closed my eyes, willing it to disappear, wishing very much to be in bed or at least take a pain killer. Oz, I was stupid, forgetting to do that. Then again I seemed to be forgetting a great many things this morning.

I almost expected Elphie to turn around and ask if I was alright. She didn't.

_Just notice me!_ I thought desperately. Perhaps if I thought hard enough she would hear it and respond. Naturally, my idea of telepathy proved impossible. Well, what was I thinking? Not even the strongest magic could produce telepathy, and I was no more than a rather mediocre sorcery student.

I crossed my arms, annoyed. Then uncrossed them – the action had given me a stomach ache.

There was a gigantic clock at the front of the room. Seconds ticked by slowly and painfully. Damn the Oz-damned thing for being right in front of me where I could see it. I was dying for some fresh air. It really was too hot in here. My stomach was churning like it had been through a meat grinder.

Finally, sweet Oz, the end! The beautiful sound of the words 'Class dismissed' from the lecturer's lips. The mad rush of students as they eagerly packed up their things. I rose from my seat, slower than I would have liked, the movement bringing a wave of pain that I fought not to let show on my face. There were no books to pack away – they had remained sat at the bottom of my bag, untouched – so I lowered the bag onto my shoulder and walked away as quickly as I could manage.

Still no acknowledgement from Elphie, even as I left.

The second I arrived outside, I breathed an enormous gulp of fresh air. Thank Oz! I really had been having the most terrible time in there. My eyes were blurry and unfocused. The packs of students seemed to swirl around me as they went about their business. Lucky people, they were, probably doing quite ordinary things right now while I stood here suffering in my little bubble of upset. How could the world be going by without acknowledging me? How could they not become still at the sight of the wounded girl, see her pain, acknowledge her misery, feel the same ache in her heart?

People were laughing, playing, socialising and getting on with their lives. That had been me, once – in another life, it must have been a different life because it was surely not this one! It was a life in which I had not been faced with such tough circumstances, a life in which I had not loved two people at once. A life in which Elphie was no one to me except the horrendible green girl, and Fiyero and I were Shiz's 'it' couple.

How impossible for such a life to have existed.

Another stomach cramp occurred and my face wetted, coating the white marks with a film of tears. Some people were probably looking at me funny, I didn't know, didn't care, they could stare at me all they wanted, but they had no idea.

Yet again I yearned to go to Elphie and hear her low inflections muttering sweet words of comfort. Yet again I acknowledged that I couldn't turn to her because she was the very centre of the issue. Yet again there was no one else that cared, no one who would listen – I was not their goodly icon anymore, I was nothing more than the girl who allegedly forced herself onto the infamous Fiyero Tigelaar, the girl who deserved her pain for her despicable behaviour.

The girl who fell in love with the atrocious green girl and didn't know what to do about it.

Was the air as thick as indoors, or was it just the stomach cramps causing my breathing to become laboured? Was it raining, or were my tears so heavy that they drenched me? Had an earthquake occurred, or was I shaking so badly that my body was out of control? Was it night, or had my whole world turned black?

Thud.

Then, nothing.

…/…

I was trapped in a game of tug of war. Arms stretched out wide, being grabbed and tugged in opposite directions. They were pulled by different pairs of hands, back and forth, left and right. No bodies attached, just the hands with their ghost-fingers grabbing my wrists and pulling, pulling, pulling.

Around me, a big, black space.

Loud echoes screeched in my ears: shouts of cruel words and desperate pleas; soft whispers and hurt cries; sweet, lyrical melodies and high pitched shrieks, creating a dissonant, discordant ambience.

A merry-go-round of visions and memories flickered in my line of sight: Blood and pain on my face; a slapping hand; running footsteps; the feeling of being wrapped up in a warm, soft pair of arms. They came and went in distorted fragments, a broken tape stuck on repeat, forcing me to relive, relive, relive the excruciating emotions.

The hands, the tugging, jostled me around, made me stumble. I cried out with pain – my arms hurt from the pulling – but they wouldn't stop, they just pulled harder. Words sounded in cruel voices – 'Mine,' they said, 'You're mine'; 'Choose me'…

'Traitor.' The loudest one.

'Hateful betrayer.'

'The most horrendible human being in all of Oz.'

'Traitor. Traitor. TRAITOR.'

Tug. Pull. Yank.

More cries, more pain. The hands, gripping tighter, pulling harder, extracting my shrieks of agony. Please, please let it stop. Please.

The hands were growing, changing colour, forming the bodies to which they belonged. Hints of green seeping in, moulding into a verdant vessel with midnight sheaths trailing down from her head. On the other side, pale hands extended from another body with crystal blue eyes locked into a death stare.

'Traitor,' he said.

'Traitor,' she said.

'TRAITOR!' they cried.

'No!' I exclaimed. 'Please!'

Wrench. Jerk. Lurch.

A quiet confession – guilt, yearning, an inconclusive response _(I'm sorry, Elphie), _whispers everywhere, spreading their mal intent, causing havoc to my image and my soul. A thousand pairs of judging eyes surrounded me, slicing me with knife opinions and unending hatred. Hateful. HATEFUL.

'Please,' I pleaded weakly.

Murmurs of condemnation; more guilt; humiliation; pain; a slap on the face; sweet murmurs.

More hands, tugging away, ripping my body in half, ripping my spirit to shreds.

'Mine. You are MINE. Choose ME.'

_But I can't! I can't choose!_

'Choose. _CHOOSE!'_

My eyes fluttered open.


	20. Chapter 20

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 20**

**A/N: I was trying to wait until tomorrow to post this. But this chapter came out so quickly and I was so excited about it that I had to post it now. It is especially long, so hooray, lucky you guys reading it! :) Also, special mention to Yelene-ryudream for the lovely long review you sent me. Thanks!**

GALINDA

Everything was bright and out of focus. I must have been at the OzDust again last night and drank too much of that punch. What was in it anyway? Lemons, melons and pears…that was a common one. That must have been it – though I couldn't seem to remember drinking it.

The light was hurting my eyes. I grappled at my duvet to bury my head under. It seemed thinner than usual, which made me pause in my tracks and look down. The article was not, as I had thought, bright pink and embellished with many pink, frilly pillows, but plain and boring white.

I yelped in fear. Where in Oz was I?

A few blinks later I was able to see well enough to take in my surroundings and discern something of my situation. The infirmary, that's where I must have been, because everything was clinical and minimal without any embellishment whatsoever. It would be the one place in all of Shiz University that remained undecorated. Still, one would have thought they'd do something about the smell, which was a powerful, horrendible eau de disinfectant, rendering it impossible to believe that this place was good for one's health.

A slight cough startled me. My eyes trailed to one corner of the room, in which there was an upright wooden chair with someone sat in it. As I took in who it was, my jaw slackened.

'Miss Pfannee?'

She nodded.

'About time. You've been out of it for a while.'

'What happened?'

'Oz only knows. You were just standing there on the university steps, next thing, you were on the floor.'

Oh. I hadn't been at the OzDust after all. It had been a long time since I'd been there.

My heart wrenched. A lot of time had passed since the last time we'd had a sincere conversation. I briefly recalled the flash of hurt on her face when I had rejected her in favour of Elphie's friendship, and her affronted mannerisms at the café when I told her of her jealous heart and asked her to leave. I remembered the countless times I had seen her make a deliberate gesture towards Fiyero, kmowing that I was looking, claiming him as hers in order to hurt me, even though I'd rejected Fiyero in the first place.

That same girl now sat here by my bedside with a genuine look of concern on her face.

What in Oz? Was I dreaming?

'Um, I – I don't have a lot of time,' said Pfannee. 'I said that I would meet up with Fiyero.'

'Oh.'

'Since you seem to be okay, I should probably go now.'

'Can you,' I blurted, 'can you tell him something from me?'

She cocked an eyebrow.

'Okay, I guess.'

'T – tell him that I'm sorry. For what I did.'

'Right…I guess I can do that. But just so you know, he won't forgive you. You really hurt him.'

Her words were like a knife in my gut. She turned and left, leaving me to stare at the doorway in shock. She must be wrong. After all she believed the rumour that I forced myself onto him. Was that what had happened? I couldn't seem to recall the details…all the talk, the rumours, the whispers, were swirling around in my head, confusing me. Which version was correct? The one in which he hit me after I tried to refuse him? The one in which I backed out after insinuating that I wanted to take things further?

Fiyero would forgive me. He would see that I was sorry. Maybe we would go back to the way things used to be. Maybe we could take it slower.

Was this it? Was I choosing him over Elphie? How in Oz was I supposed to tell her, if that was the case? Maybe I ought to say nothing. I would make up with Fiyero first, and then break it gently to Elphie. She would understand. We had smoothed things over and decided to get back together. Of course she could still be my friend, and of course I still wanted her to stay at Shiz at all costs. How it would work, I had no idea. Perhaps I would request my private suite after all, and give her some space.

_Traitor._

Now it was her I had led on. Sweet Oz, what had I been thinking, telling her that I wanted to love her?

No. I couldn't do that to her. The very thought of giving up Elphie's love made me feel like the world was ending. I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. I was such a horrendible person for thinking all of these wicked thoughts. I didn't deserve anyone's love at all, not Elphie's, nor Fiyero's, when I had been so awful to both of them. How could Elphie love me?

A nurse walked in on me crying. That was all I seemed to do these days.

'What's up with you, love? Are you feeling unwell?'

I continued to sob into my pillow, unable to communicate what I was feeling. The idea of being comforted by a stranger who didn't know what a dreadful person I was, was horrifying. She shouldn't be here. She should be tending to those who actually deserved it. She should leave me here to wallow in my misery and feel every ounce of consequence of all of my Oz-awful decisions.

'I need to look you over, if that's okay,' said the nurse. 'You were out for a while. I just need to make sure nothing's wrong.'

But I clung onto the horrible hospital blanket and resisted.

'Miss Galinda, I'm afraid I'm unable to release you until I have done this. Please will you sit up so I can look you over?'

'_Go away!'_ I yelled. 'You don't know _anything!'_

I staggered out of bed and looked around for my shoes and bag. Unable to find them, I stumbled towards the door in a desperate attempt to leave. Luckily the infirmary had decided not to substitute my uniform in favour of one of their dreadful hospital gowns, so I still looked like a normal human being and not a hospital escapee. The nurse grabbed my wrist but I tugged it free and ran.

My stomach still hurt and I was dizzy, but I made it back to my room and flung myself onto my bed, sobbing.

'Galinda!'

I had forgotten that Elphie would probably be here.

Then the door opened again and the Oz-damned nurse arrived.

'What's going on?' asked Elphie.

I curled up under my duvet with a wave of shame as the nurse explained the situation. I lay perfectly still, thinking that maybe if I was still enough I could pretend I wasn't there, and then the stupid nurse would leave me alone. I didn't care that it was illogical – the silly fool already knew I was here – but the notion comforted me just for a few moments.

Then I felt a presence at my bedside. What was with the nurse? Could she not take a hint?

'Galinda.'

It wasn't the nurse after all. It was Elphie.

'Galinda, I know you're not feeling well, but please can you sit up for me?'

The lyrical inflections were soothing.

'Make her go away,' I mumbled.

'Could you please step outside for a moment?' she said to the nurse. I heard the door open, then close.

'Will you come on out now, please?'

I couldn't show my face to her. If I did, she might be able to see what I had been thinking written all over it, and I couldn't do that to her. I squirmed under the duvet and shook my head.

'Galinda, my sweet, what's the matter? Why are you acting like this? I'm worried.'

I felt her fingers begin to stroke the top of my head, which was sticking out from the duvet. It was the first bit of physical contact we'd had since talking to my father, and I felt a wave of relief that she still cared. The relief was tainted with culpability.

'I'm sorry I've been quiet, my sweet,' Elphie continued. 'I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just thinking through some confusing things.'

Her sweet words were killing me with kindness. I was the one who should apologise to her, not the other way round. Again, I wondered: how could she love me?

'Oh, my sweet, I love you because you're you.' Sweet Oz, had I spoken that out loud? I hadn't meant to. 'I love you because you have come so far since your first days at Shiz, and you're starting to realise your potential. And I love you because you're so much better than all those people who hurt you.'

'No I'm not. I'm worse.'

My words were met with a pause. The head stroking continued.

'Here I am asking you to stay at Shiz and rip yourself away from your family, and all the while, I still can't stop thinking about Fiyero,' I quietly confessed. 'And I feel bad because I know the whole thing was my fault, and I shouldn't have done that to him, but at the same time I'm scared because he hit me, and I keep thinking of you and how badly I want you and it all just gets to me and I end up with this horrendible headache because of it…'

'Shh, my sweet,' she interrupted. 'Now tell me: How long have you been suffering in silence?'

A soft sob escaped my lips.

'I don't know. Ages.'

'That's not good for you. You need to talk about these things.'

'You wouldn't,' I countered. 'You do everything by yourself.'

'Hm. Indeed. But I've been alone my entire life and am hence an expert at dealing with it. You, on the other hand, are a beginner at keeping things to yourself. It isn't your nature, my sweet.'

Finally I poked my head out of the duvet. Her face looked down at me and I felt a rush of tentative appreciation.

'Are you ready to tell me why a nurse was chasing after you?'

'I fainted. I was feeling unwell. But I ran out of the infirmary because I was feeling horrendible and she wouldn't leave me alone.'

'Her job isn't to leave you alone when you're feeling horrendible. Quite the opposite, in fact.'

I emitted a soft giggle.

'Will you let her look you over now?'

'Yeah. Okay.'

Elphie called the nurse back in. I sat on the edge of my bed feeling sheepish as the nurse looked me over. My face must be quite an atrocious sight, with no make-up, red rimmed eyes, a blotchy, streaky face and a swollen nose. Nevertheless, she declared me healthy and said that I didn't need to go back.

'However, she needs to rest a while longer and stay hydrated. Also, I'm concerned about her psychological wellbeing,' the nurse added to Elphie. 'It might be beneficial for her to speak to someone if there's something going on that she's struggling to deal with.'

'I'll speak to her about it,' Elphie said.

…/…

ELPHABA

I thought I had won the trophy for self-loathing, but it seemed, to my horror, that Galinda had bested me.

At least in my case I had a valid basis. I had done things which did indeed warrant dislike. However, a beautiful soul like Galinda should only have to look at herself with love and confidence. Loathing should never have been an option for her (I recalled how I'd detested her in those early days and grimaced. How wrong I'd been).

I was numb at the realisation of the extent of what she was going through. I had known that she retained some confusion over the Fiyero incident. It hurt me, but it was a reasonable occurrence. However, I had failed to notice how badly it was eating away at her. Burying herself under the covers, refusing to even look at me, had been a far cry from the bright, bouncy, happy girl that she'd once been. Certainly I had been glad she was learning to be more than her previous shallow persona – but the cost was reaching far higher than what anyone should have to experience.

It was all I could do not to rush over and embrace her while she was sleeping. Although I was desperate to take away the horrors that were torturing her mind, I was well aware that my presence might make things worse. In a strange way I was one of the horrors that factored in her confusion. It was my love for her, my presence in her life, that was part of the cause of this.

_All I ever do is hurt the people around me._

I was careful to acknowledge that the thought was irrational. This was deeper than just me becoming present in Galinda's life. There were many issues at stake here.

But I knew that I could never leave. Not now. Not after this. It had been a defining moment in which I had finally made a decision. I had realised what was important. My family, though I cared about them, didn't match up to the overwhelming love I had for Galinda. I could afford to hurt my family, but I couldn't afford to hurt Galinda. I could leave my family, but I could never, _ever_ leave Galinda.

The decision was painful to make, but left me with an overriding sense of peace. Now we would be able to move forward. I would remain at Shiz. It would be difficult, but for Galinda's sake, I would do it. So that we could be together. So that I would never have to leave her.


	21. Chapter 21

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 21**

**A/N: I loved the enthusiasm in the reviews for the last chapter. Especially Bubble's extreme Gelphie shipping. Lol. Thanks guys! Next chapter's a shortie, but it just came to its natural end so I left it like that.**

ELPHABA

'Oh sweet Oz,' Galinda muttered as she looked around the room frantically.

'What seems to be the problem?'

'I left the stupid bag in the infirmary, but that's where that silly nurse is, so I have to see her in order to get it.'

In the light of yesterday's events, I was on the verge of offering to spare her what would be, to her, a humiliating situation. In comparison she was now much better, or at the very least, not outwardly projecting misery, but I could sense her fragility underneath the more composed exterior. It was present in the way she considered the door with a very slight pout on her lips and one hand on her hip.

Instead I said: 'Well go on, then. The bag won't retrieve itself.'

'Elphie, you are a mean green thing,' she huffed.

I smirked. Despite the fragility, it would be better for her not to begin to shy away from things.

The concentration on her face as she pondered her dilemma was a thing which I had not noticed in those early Shiz days, but had become more and more apparent as the weeks had gone by. Whenever she was feeling indecisive her forehead would crinkle just a tiny bit, and her lips would form that adorable pout. It made me realise that, despite my originally calling her shallow, there really was a thinker in her. She might have thought of trivial things, but she thought of them well and hard.

'She got my shoes as well. My brand new sparkly pink heels.'

A rush of love spread through my chest as she commiserated them like the world was ending.

'Then you had better rescue them from the dark depths of the infirmary.'

'Dark? It is certainly not dark in there! In fact it is very, very white and smells absolutely dreadful!'

'I agree with you on that point, my sweet,' I replied. 'The air in there kills my lungs. That's why I avoid it as much as possible.'

'Is it…is it like water for you?'

'Sort of, though it's not wet by any means.'

Her nose crinkled.

'Well I suppose I had better go and get my stuff then,' she conceded, and I felt the tiniest bit bad as she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

…/…

'Elphaba!'

The lecture had ended and I was about to go to the cafeteria for lunch. I waited as Nessa wheeled her chair up to me. Galinda caught sight of Nessa, slung her now retrieved bag over her shoulder and walked away.

As I pushed Nessa's chair, she said 'I require your help for the end of term. You'll need to help me pack my things for the holidays.'

Within all the recent events I had almost forgotten that the end of term was approaching. With a start, it hit me that I had yet to reveal my decision to leave home and support myself in order to remain at Shiz university. My gut twisted. Nessa was not going to take this well, but I knew I would have to tell her eventually. Better sooner rather than later, so she would have time to digest it.

'Of course. But I need to tell you something.'

'What? Don't tell me you've done yet another stupid thing. You've already jeopardised your entire education with that stupid magic stunt you pulled…'

'I'm not leaving Shiz.'

For several long moments, Nessa did not respond. She pondered the information with a frown on her face. Then, she said 'Well that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. You know if you defy father…'

'He'll disown me, yes.'

'But Elphaba, you can't leave home! I need you to assist me!'

'If I leave Shiz I won't be assisting you anyway. Think about it.'

She stared at me reproachfully.

'You know, when you did that magic thing you should have thought about me. You're my _sister,_ you're supposed to take care of me! But instead you went and made a fool of yourself and now I'm going to lose you whether you stay at Shiz or not. Elphaba, how could you be so selfish?'

'_Selfish!'_ I retaliated. 'I have spent my whole life giving you everything, making sure that you didn't miss out on a single opportunity because of your disability. I have gone above and beyond what most sisters do. I regret that I lost my temper, but on no account will I be called selfish, least not by you of all people. Never in my life have I asked for anything. And you, you get _everything! _I only ever wanted Shiz, that's the one thing I wanted so badly, and that's the thing I am going to take because I'll be damned if you think I'm going to continue to submit to you like this!_'_

'It's not my fault I'm disabled! If anything _you're_ the reason I'm stuck in this Oz-damned chair!'

I froze. I felt completely numb.

'It's a stupid idea anyway,' Nessa eventually said. 'If you leave home, where are you going to go? The streets?'

I realised I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Where _would_ I go? Although I had spoken to Galinda's father about my options, I knew that the amount of time left until the end of term wasn't enough to get everything together and sort out a place for myself.

'Oh, let me guess,' Nessa continued. 'You're going to share Galinda's bed. Since the two of you are _so close_ these days.'

'Don't bring Galinda into this.'

'I will bring Galinda into this, because _she_ is the reason why all of this happened. Your using magic was because of Galinda, and because of that, you are choosing to leave home to stay at Shiz, _with her._ Is _everything_ about her? Why would you pick her over me?'

'Because I love her.'

It slipped out before I could stop it. Nessa gasped and I feared I might have made the revelation too early. I hadn't spoken to Galinda about it. I wasn't even sure how she felt at this point.

'Sweet Oz, she really is a bad influence. Perhaps it is better that you are leaving,' said Nessa. 'Father would never welcome such atrocities into his home.'

'He can be rid of this one then,' I said, and suddenly I had lost my appetite.

Instead of continuing to the cafeteria I headed back to Crage Hall. I needed some space to breathe. The conversation with Nessa had shaken me to the core.


	22. Chapter 22

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 22**

**A/N: Once again I loved the enthusiastic reviews. Especially Bubble's amazing Gelphie shipping.**

**So, I've now got one user wanting to slap Pfannee, and another going after Nessa with a pitchfork. Honestly, so violent guys, tsk tsk. You should form an army or something. Seriously.**

**I can't believe I've passed 70 reviews. That is amazing. Thank you so much. I would love to eventually pass 100 so keep them coming! :)**

GALINDA

Elphie had abandoned me to face the hell that was called the dining room alone. I was horrified to be seen sitting by myself at a little table in the corner. It was a table which I had seen sit many lonesome students, usually geeks or scholars who were too into their essays to notice they had no friends. The table had even seated Elphie back in those early days. I remembered seeing her there and thinking what a perfect place it was for a horrendible green bean like her.

Elphie had always been one to embrace her lonesomeness. She had never batted an eyelid at all the stares, whispers and sniggers she received. On the other hand, I felt awkward and hyper-aware of all the wolfish faces of my peers as they ate their lunch and chattered away, a pastime I had once looked forward to but no longer found any pleasure in. I felt as though a barrier surrounded my table, isolating me in a little bubble of loneliness while everyone else gazed in from the outside and laughed at my wrecked status.

When Fiyero and Pfannee entered the room I watched them with a flurry of nerves. Would Fiyero come and speak to me after what I'd said to Pfannee? But the two of them walked straight past me as though I was invisible, and I felt crushed. Fiyero had ignored my apology…or Pfannee hadn't told him. Either way I chastised myself for not realising that such things would be futile. Of course Fiyero wouldn't care. I was just a worthless blonde girl who once dated him. A distant memory.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, _I thought loudly. Not that it would make any difference.

I was steadily growing more uncomfortable. Where in Oz was Elphie? I had thought for sure that she would catch up with me, but Nessarose had arrived alone and Elphie was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, Nessarose had looked annoyed, but she was the sort to always be irritated by something or other.

Sighing with defeat I dumped my tray and left. The awkwardness was getting to me. I was far too aware of the number of people who saw me sitting alone and didn't care to offer their company. Not even one person. The sudden drop in sound level as I exited the dining room left me feeling bruised. I wasn't good enough for them, not anymore. Not since the Fiyero incident.

There was only one person left in my life for whom I would be good enough. As I returned to my dorm I prayed that she was there. Her sweet words would save me from the sense of desperation surrounding me.

I found her, sitting at her desk, pen held in the air, frozen in place like a beautiful, green statue. She jolted at the sound of the door opening.

'Hi Elphie!'

I attempted to sound cheerful, but my greeting came out forced and false.

'Hello, Galinda,' she responded.

Her voice was low and monotone; the usual lyrical, melodic sound not present. The nickname she so often called me was gone. She did not turn around. I took a step towards her, wondering what in Oz could be going on. I was reminded of the time when she confessed to having used magic, and chastised myself for failing to notice that I was not the only one with feelings. That other people could be hurting too. That maybe Elphie's issue, whatever had happened, might take precedence over my stupid yearning for popularity.

But it was hard to approach her and say 'What's wrong?' when the back of my brain still contained remnants of past things. I was tempted to pack it in and let her brood. It would be easier than getting involved. If I left now I wouldn't have to be the one to bear the brunt of whatever it was Elphie was thinking about. She could deal with it herself – it was her problem – and she always did these things alone anyway. Yet I couldn't turn around and reach for the door handle.

The feelings I had discovered for my strange roommate kept me halted in my spot. I was engulfed in a strange sense of obligation. Was it not I who had said that I wanted to love Elphie? And yet I would so easily turn my back on her?

_Well you've already proven yourself selfish enough. You might at least attempt to redeem yourself._

'Um…'

A thick silence hung in the air. Exactly how did one go about talking about these sensitive things? Usually I was the one in distress and it was other people doing the comforting. I was quite unused to being the caregiver. What if I did it wrong and made things worse?

'So, what's up?'

I instantly regretted my words. They sounded stupid and hollow.

'I'm not leaving Shiz.'

A shriek of glee erupted from my throat and I ran over and embraced her in a hug from behind. She flinched, and I quickly pulled away, feeling a prick of worry amongst my excitement.

'So then…what's up?' I repeated. It sounded as stupid as the last time.

'I told Nessa. She hates me.'

'Oh.'

I didn't know what to say to that. Patchwork phrases such as 'I'm sure she doesn't' and 'It isn't how you think' and 'She just needs time' entered my head, and I immediately dismissed them. I had seen enough to know it was quite possible that Nessarose did, literally, hate her.

'She blamed me for her disability.'

'Elphie, you know that it's not…'

'She's right.'

She lowered the pen and turned around. I was silenced by the pain that came with her declaration. Her features were painted with remorse, an expression I instantly decided I never wanted to see on her face again.

But still, I didn't know what to say. I was grappling for words, anything to form a coherent statement that might pass as an adequate response. There didn't seem to be anything. I fidgeted on the spot, racking my brains. I had once considered myself good with words, but these days they failed me so easily and often.

'What am I going to do?' she said out of nowhere. I was shocked by the fear in her voice, and more so, the fact that she was asking me for advice.

'Huh?'

'It's all very well what your father said, but there's barely two weeks until the end of term. I can't get everything sorted out by then.'

'Stay with me. Temporarily. Just for the holidays,' I said. 'Then you'll have plenty of time. You'll have the whole holiday plus next term to get everything figured out. My parents won't mind, I promise.'

'I couldn't…'

'Why not?'

She didn't answer me. My heart was beating hard and I felt confused. I didn't understand why she was resisting me when it seemed to me like the perfect solution. She shook her head and I felt a wave of grief overtake me.

'Elphie, why?' I pressed.

She blew out a puff of air.

'Because then people would think we were engaging in…things. And I'm not sure how you would handle that kind of rumour.'

'Huh? Engaging in what? What rumour?'

'That we're doing stuff…together.'

I bit my lip, suddenly scared. I felt in two minds: one which was jumping with joy at the very idea, and another which was absolutely petrified of the fallout that could result from it. Mixtures of different things appeared in my head – various thoughts about Fiyero, and the rumours, and my intensified, heightened feelings for Elphie. I was already hated enough as it was. It would be even worse if they thought I was doing things with Elphie. My life might become a living hell.

'They – they don't have to know anything,' I stammered. 'No one has to tell them you're coming back with me.'

'The rumours are already there,' Elphie replied. 'Nessa's already insinuated it.'

'But we – we haven't done anything!'

'But we might. It's possible, my sweet. If what you said the other week about wanting to love me still holds, that is.'

'It does,' I quickly said.

'My sweet, you are not in a good state of mind as of recently. I am much too worried about how the possible fallout could really hurt you right now.'

I could feel the chance of helping Elphie to stay at Shiz slipping away with her words. Her managing to succeed in becoming independent and not ending up on the streets rested on my ability to hold up in the situation, and I could already feel myself cracking around the edges. My mind was in turmoil. I couldn't stand the thought of yet more rumours and hatred, but the thought of Elphie ending up on the street, struggling to fend for herself, was more than I could bear.

'I can take it,' I croaked. 'I will…take it.'

'And what of Fiyero?'

'What use is it? He hates me anyway,' I said despondently.

'Galinda, that is not a good basis to make a decision like this. It shouldn't be about choosing merely what's available to you. If that's the case, then I can't do it because it wouldn't be real. So I must ask you: Is this what you really _want?'_

'Um…'

The familiar tug of war tore at me. I could feel the sense of loss at the idea of giving up on Fiyero, along with the desperate desire to be with Elphie. She looked at me expectantly and I found myself shrinking under her gaze. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to make my decision now and face whatever consequences came with it.

_This is too much, _I thought. _How in Oz am I supposed to choose?_

'Um…'

I recalled all the hurt of the recent weeks. The scars on my face. The beady eyes of my peers passing judgement on me day in and day out. The sickening relationship between Fiyero and Pfannee ripping me to shreds as she declared him hers and not mine. The guilt of knowing that I could have handled things differently with Fiyero, and then perhaps we would still be together, crossed with the terrible way he had treated me since the incident. I was in the wrong, yes…but so was he.

And suddenly I became enlightened.

While Fiyero was off gallivanting with Pfannee and not sparing a single thought for how I might be feeling, or how his actions were affecting me, Elphie was the one who had done right by me. She was ultimately the one who had treated me like I mattered. She was the one who had taken care of me in my worst moments. It was Elphie who had soothed me through the many bouts of tears; Elphie who had stood up for me when the adverse comments were too much for me to handle.

The answer was simple. It had been Elphie, the whole time.

'Yes, I want this,' I said, and broke down in tears of amazement and relief.


	23. Chapter 23

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 23**

**A/N: OH MY GOD you guys! I am so overwhelmed by the response to the last chapter! I can't believe the number of reviews it got! Thank you so much everyone, you've all been amazing and made me a VERY HAPPY WRITER. Yay!**

**Also, the user Moreanswers24 totally advocates the army idea and suggests that it be called 'Gelphie Grenades: Hurting people who diss Glinda or Elphie since 2013'. I personally think this is amazing. #GelphieGrenades hashtag anyone? Lol. Also, Moreanswers24 claims to have spare pitchforks if anybody wants one. ;)**

**This chapter is dedicated to Bubble, whose review inspired me to write it. Thanks, Bubble!**

GALINDA

The next morning there was some sort of commotion happening in the dining room. As Elphie and I approached the grand doors we began to hear shrieks, cries and raised voices. With an uneasy glance towards Elphie I pushed the doors open and entered to see a crowd of students forming a circle around two people, who seemed to be the centre of the commotion.

'Fiyero, how could you!' shrieked Pfannee. She was pacing around hysterically and crying. Fiyero stood rooted to the spot with his arms folded across his chest.

'What in Oz…' Elphie muttered. 'Some of us want to eat in peace.'

'Hush – I want to see this,' I replied, and craned my neck to try and see over the masses of students. Unfortunately my height (or lack thereof) made this somewhat difficult, but I persevered nonetheless.

'Well you see, Pfannee, I mean, you are a _lovely_ girl, but…'

'But what!' Pfannee exclaimed. 'But you would go behind my back and sleep with _Shenshen?'_

'I swear I didn't mean to! She – she forced herself on me and…'

'Just like Galinda forced herself on you? I should have known better!' Pfannee spat.

'Well, you know, it's not like our relationship was serious…'

'Serious! It was serious to me!'

'…not ready to settle down, I'm just dancing through life right now…'

'…all I know, Galinda was as innocent as I am…'

'…can't expect that this was going to go anywhere…'

As they yelled over each other I could no longer make out coherent words or sentences. Pfannee continued to pace and make wild gestures, and Fiyero continued to stand there failing to babble his way out of the situation.

'Oh my…I can't believe it,' I said softly. It was the most gutting feeling, to think I had forgiven him, even taken responsibility for his actions. Seeing this presented the Fiyero incident in a whole new light. Worst thing, I wasn't the only victim.

Finally, someone broke off the fight. Pfannee was taken away by a consoling Milla, who took her gently by the arm and led her out of the room. Fiyero shrugged and muttered something about how everything was being blown out of proportion, and stalked off. Gradually the crowd of students began to disperse.

'Come on,' said Elphie. 'Let's get breakfast.'

I nodded and followed her into the queue. A buzz had overtaken the dining room as the students began to discuss this latest occurrence. I took some breakfast, but didn't really pay much attention to it. My mind kept going back to the devastation on Pfannee's face as Fiyero bleated lame excuses at her. I flashed back to the day of the Fiyero incident. I had felt the same pain that she was now going through.

We'd had our differences, but now we were in the same boat: the lonely boat of victims of the Winkie Prince Fiyero Tigelaar.

I picked at my breakfast then shoved the food away.

'Lurline, I need to do something,' I muttered. Elphie cocked an eyebrow and I left in search of Pfannee.

I knocked on the door to Pfannee's private suite and prayed that I would be allowed in. There was a chance that I might be the last person she wanted to see right now, but hopefully she would consent to talk to me. Milla opened the door and her eyes widened when she saw me.

'You? How come you're here?'

'I wondered if I might speak with Miss Pfannee, please.'

Milla looked around uncertainly. I could hear soft whimpers coming from inside the room and my heart broke as I was reminded of my own grievances.

'It's okay – let her in,' came Pfannee's voice.

Milla opened the door wider and I stepped inside. The room was much different from my own. Unlike Elphie's and my disjointed areas, everything matched. The ornaments and décor were made of the finest quality materials, arranged in a beautiful, blue-green colour scheme. I used to come here in the early Shiz days, but in the light of recent events it had now been several weeks since the last visit.

Pfannee lay on the King-sized bed, her face buried into the pillows. I perched on the edge and looked down at her, feeling an old sense of affection returning.

Eventually she looked at me.

'It was him, wasn't it?' she said. 'Not you.'

'I very much had my part in things,' I replied.

'But did you? Or did you just think you did?'

'I don't know,' I murmured, shaking my head. 'I was lost for ages.'

As the soft tears escaped her lids into her deep blue pillow, I found myself stroking her hair, much like Elphie had done for me. She clung onto the pillow's edge as though it was a vice. Her shoulders shuddered and quiet moans continued to escape her lips.

Milla, meanwhile, had gone to get more tissues. As she passed them to Pfannee she looked uneasy as she looked between the two of us. Slowly I backed off, thinking that maybe I had intruded too much. I vaguely recalled an amicable association with Milla, and even Shenshen as well, but that had died out easily.

'We're not really friends with Shenshen anymore,' Milla said. 'She became a bit, well, unseemly. Her behaviour, that is. She was far too bold with all the boys and they started to call her a player. This confirms it, I suppose.'

'How dreadful,' I commented.

'Makes me wonder how people could think that of _you,_ Galinda. I thought the story didn't seem to add up, but I couldn't pinpoint it.'

I couldn't help feeling a bit put out. A sense of betrayal overcame me.

'Then why did you treat me like the rest of them? You were no better,' I accused.

She stared at the floor.

'Well, Pfannee is a really good friend of mine and she was going out with Fiyero. It was hard, trying to be supportive of her relationship while feeling like I was missing something.'

'You could have said something. At least let me know that you didn't believe all of that _stuff_ that people have been saying about me!'

She fell silent. I felt uncomfortable with the tension in the air.

'I – I should probably go now,' I said.

'Galinda,' said Pfannee.

'Yeah?'

'Thanks for coming to see me.'

'No problem.'

I left in a state of confusion. Happy that Pfannee had someone to look out for her. Hurt that Milla had held out on me and let me suffer. Hopeful that perhaps my friendship with Pfannee might be rekindled, if only slightly. The corridors passed by in a blur. I was supposed to be in a lecture by now. I was ten minutes late, but wasn't in the mood for studying.

Instead of going to the lecture theatre I found myself at a rather unexpected place. The infirmary. I hadn't intended to go there, but I had become sick of the headache of not understanding the things that were happening in my life. Before Shiz I had never been in such a depressed state for such a long period of time.

Since making my decision to help Elphie and give up all thoughts of winning back Fiyero, I felt lost. I wanted to feel good about it. I wanted to be happy and give myself wholly and fully to my mysterious, green roommate. I wanted to block out everything that had happened with Fiyero and pass it off as an insignificant, distant memory. But I still couldn't, and it bothered me to no end. I had to find a way to let this go.

Thankfully there was a different nurse this time – the same one who had originally helped me after I was injured. She smiled at me warmly.

'Hello, Galinda, what brings you here today? Your cheek is looking a lot better.'

'Thanks,' I said. 'Um, I don't really know how to say this…' I struggled to come out with it. It felt like an admission of wrongdoing, though I wasn't sure why.

Luckily this nurse was really understanding.

'It's okay. Take your time. I don't have any patients at the moment.'

'Well, you see, I was kind of wondering if – well, maybe I could speak to someone, please?'

'I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific. What is it you would like to speak about?'

My fingers traced my cheek. I could feel my eyes shining, but blinked back the tears – I was so sick of them.

With my eyes trained on the floor, I spoke my answer.

'I'm struggling. With – with stuff. I've just been feeling really bad and I'm sick of it. And I d – don't know what to do about it.'

'Oh right – you want to see a counsellor, then?'

I didn't like the word 'counsellor'. It implied that there was something wrong with me. Like I was mental or something. I nodded nonetheless. That was, essentially, what I wanted.

The nurse picked up the phone and dialled a number. After a quick conversation she led me into an empty office and asked me to sit down. The office was unconventional. Instead of the usual desk and chairs set up, there was a desk in the corner and a couple of armchairs around a coffee table. I took a seat in one of the armchairs, feeling out of sorts and a bit displaced. Not so long ago I would never have imagined myself in one of these places, about to talk to a stranger about my feelings.

A short while later, a man entered the room. He was tall with glasses and a friendly smile. He didn't wear a white coat like the nurses, but an ordinary trousers and jumper combination.

'Hello, I'm sorry about the delay. My name is Dr Farold Srinivasan, but you can call me Farold. You are Galinda Upland, correct?'

'Of the Upper Uplands, yes. But you can call me Galinda.'

We started by chatting about mostly mundane things. Where I came from. Who my family was. Who my friends were. It all seemed pretty trivial, but it wasn't too long before I realised he had expertly shifted the conversation onto the more sensitive matters, and I began unloading everything that had been weighing down on me over the past few weeks. It was exhausting, but when I left with a second appointment scheduled for a few days later, I felt the tiniest bit of hope that things might just get better.


	24. Chapter 24

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 24**

**A/N: I just wanted to talk about where this fic is going. What I have in mind is that I am going to get to the holidays, and then continue the story in a sequel. This is because the events which were set off by each of their 'moments of weakness' have evolved so much that the rest of the story would be better told under a different title. I figured the transition from school to the holidays would be a good place to provide a clean break between the fics. Is everyone agreeable to this?**

**Also, this chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Faye, who sat down and read all the last 23 chapters straight through the other night. Faye, you are awesome. Thanks.**

ELPHABA

Galinda did not show up to the morning's lecture. I figured that the events of breakfast must have gotten to her and made a mental note to check on her later. When we were dismissed at the end, I heard the low murmurs of the student body start up again, and realised that there had been a shift. They were no longer talking about Galinda in terms of what had happened between her and Fiyero. Nor were they badmouthing my outburst of magic that had scared so many people.

Instead, they were talking about things which had supposedly happened between Galinda and me.

'…doing things together.'

'Are they like a thing?'

'That's what I heard.'

Only one person, other than Galinda herself, knew that I loved her. Immediately I went to find Nessa. As I made my way towards her, my ears cottoned onto another snippet of conversation. I felt the urge to convulse as I heard Fiyero's voice talking jovially to another girl.

'You know, it's all about enjoying life while we're young. I call it my Dancing Through Life philosophy,' he was saying. I expected to see the girl looking completely charmed, but was surprised when she shrank away from him, her eyes wide with worry.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I'm not interested in being messed around with.'

Concealing a satisfied smirk I slinked past them to where Nessa was sitting. I kneeled in front of her and made direct eye contact.

'Did you do this?' I demanded. 'Have you been spreading falsities about Galinda and me?'

'No!' Nessa exclaimed. 'How dare you accuse me of such things? Why in Oz would I do something which served to ruin my upstanding image?'

'You're the only one who knows,' I insisted.

'Well I have said nothing. This came about of its own accord, because you and Galinda spend so much time being all over each other, it's sickening!'

With a frustrated sigh I walked away. I wanted to continue to blame her, but what she said had made sense. Nessa _wouldn't_ say something that jeopardised her image. I went to the library. The first scholarship exam was tomorrow, and although I had gone above and beyond to prepare since making my decision, I still wanted to get in a bit of extra studying. Just in case. I couldn't afford to take any chances.

I felt at home among the endless shelves of books. They made me feel peaceful and far away from the world of idle gossip and social status. Unlike my classmates, the books were my friends, welcoming me into their lair and offering their wisdom.

After gathering a small stack of books I seated myself in a little corner at the back, which was well concealed and out of the way. No one would notice me here. It would be easy to fade into the furniture and pretend that I didn't exist for a few hours. I flicked through the books, deciding which one to pursue first. Shortly later I pushed back the pile and wandered to the fiction section. There were scarce few students in this section – most were more concerned about their end of term exams – but I found myself scouring the racks for a good story, something to take my mind off things. I loved fiction. The characters were free to have whatever happy endings they desired. All you had to do was scribble out the bad words and replace them with whichever idealism took your fancy, and all the stress and worry and sadness would be gone.

In my fictional world, I would be with Galinda forever. We would be married and living in our own place, and maybe even have children. My father wouldn't hate me. Nessa would accept me for who I was. She would become a good Eminent of Munchkinland and make decisions for the greater good. I would become a scientist and sorceress. Galinda would flourish in her flights of fancy, going whichever way they took her at any given moment.

Of course, that was only fictional, and I dared not allow it to become a dream. Dreaming of a brighter future had always been non-existent to me. I was undeserving and unworthy of it. In reality every bit of consequence in being forced out of my home and struggling to find my independence was justified. It was my price for existing. My price for hurting Nessa. My price for being born green. For being born at all.

For a few hours I sat there absorbing pages of the fantasies of other worlds that were far removed from mine. When I finally came back down to Oz, I felt a jolt of disappointment. In that short while I had almost started to believe I was a part of those worlds. Of course, that could never be the case.

I put the books away and returned to Crage Hall. I had not yet made good on my promise to check up on Galinda. To my surprise, she sat at her desk, writing. She twisted around, tossing her blonde curls and greeted me with a wide smile.

'Hi, Elphie!'

'Hello, my sweet.'

She twisted back around and scribbled a few more words. I couldn't resist a comment.

'Now really, Galinda, I must investigate this on-going tendency of yours to impersonate me. Writing instead of reorganising your shoe closet? Well I never. Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands put studying first for a change.'

'This isn't study,' she said.

'Of course not. Far be it from you to actually dare to study.'

'It's homework.'

'I thought you just said it _wasn't_ study?' I asked, confused.

'_Not_ that kind of homework. Sweet Oz, I've done enough of that already. No, Elphie, this is the kind of homework for people like me who have so many issues that their heads are going to explode! Like mine!'

She was getting steadily more irate. I realised I may have pushed her too far with the sarcasm. She scribbled faster and harder, and I stood behind her, curious.

Soon she flung the pen down, stood up, and whirled around.

'You see, Miss _Elphaba,_ some of us don't happen to be quite as lonesome as you are. You even said that very thing yourself. But my point is that, just because you never do, it is not _wrong_ of me to seek out guidance should I need it. In fact, some might think it was very, very _right.'_

Oh. Now I understood. Galinda had gone to speak to someone after all, and thought I was mocking her about it.

'I apologise, my sweet. I didn't mean for you to think I was laughing at you. I only meant it to be banter.'

She looked at me reproachfully. Her lips shaped into an oval pout and her fingers found their way to her scars. She cocked her head and blinked. I regretted the vanishing of her chipper guise and appearance of the distress, born of my thoughtless words.

'Banter. Yes, well. We both know the magnitude of poor word choice.'

'I agree, and I should have been more vigilant.'

Galinda took a step towards me. 'Indeed you should.' Another step. 'Or you might be thought,' a third, 'rather offensive.' Then she flashed a smile and I breathed a sigh of relief.

'Then I suppose I shall have to rectify my disposition. Tell me, my sweet, how would you like me to be?'

She wrapped her arms around my waist and lay her head on my chest. The contact was unusual but warm. I positioned my arms around her shoulders and she sighed softly. I felt the slight ruffle of her curls as she shook her head, and her nose pressed into my chest.

'Don't be like anything,' she mumbled. 'Be like Elphie.'

'Be like Elphie, hm? That would require me to continue to present my sardonic temperament.'

'No, _not_ like that!' Galinda huffed. 'Sheesh, you're so dense!'

'Then enlighten me, my sweet.'

'Well, I _mean,'_ she pressed on, 'that the words and phrases inside of my brain are at risk of coming out sounding incredibly silly, but nonetheless, I simply must tell you how very warm you have made me feel in the last few weeks. It is comparatively enjoyable to the horrendible coldliness of the rest of the people here. I therefore have to insist that you continue to make me feel warm, else I might be at risk of dying of frostbite!' she declared.

'My sweet, I highly doubt you would die of frostbite. You have the warmest coats in all of Oz. Or is that what I am to you now, a coat…'

'_No!'_

She leapt back from me, arms crossed, and I cursed my Oz-damned sharp tongue for making an untimely appearance.

'All the coats in Oz could never be as warm as you,' she added.

'Then I must have an incredibly high fever.'

'Mean green thing, you know, you could just try accepting the compliment.'

'So what were you writing about?' I asked.

'Thoughts. Farold said that my mind was too cluttered with all the stuff that was going on. He thought it might help if I wrote some of it down.'

'Farold, hm? And did it help you, my sweet?'

She nodded.

'Good, I'm glad to hear it.'


	25. Chapter 25

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 25**

**A/N: So I wrote this chapter and got way too excited about it. It just took off and before I knew it, it was about a thousand words longer than the rest of my chapters. Which is great for you guys because it means more gelphie. :D**

**Also, how awesome would if be if I got to 100 reviews before the end of this fic? (hint hint) #ShamelessSelfPromotion. ^_^**

**I created the cover for what's going to be the sequel to this story. I've decided that it will be called 'Overcoming Adversity'. ****There will probably only be a few chapters left of 'Moment of Weakness' before I transition into the sequel.**

GALINDA

Elphie had been telling the truth. New rumours were leaching throughout the student body.

Before, when I'd decided to give up Fiyero, I must have been in a state of denial. Although my ears had heard Elphie's concerns of how I would handle such things, underneath I realised I hadn't really believed that they would manifest.

When they did, I became scared. The enormity of my decision became very, very apparent. As I wandered between my lectures, exams and the dining room, I found myself wondering if I was able to handle the penalties of my choice after all. I had told Elphie that I could. That I would do it for her sake. Because I wanted her. Because I – loved – her (did I dare label it so?).

Yet, I felt myself crumbling slowly as I detected obvious problems I had failed to consider during my initial dilemma. Back then, it had been all about my feelings for Elphie, as a person. However, I had not contemplated Elphie as a female. It hadn't seemed to matter. Now it appeared an enormous issue. Elphie was a girl. I was also a girl.

How uncommon indeed.

It posed the question: _Could_ I love her that way? Was it even possible? I wasn't very aware if there were others that had feelings for their own gender. I had grown up in a world of girls who dreamed of finding the perfect man and having a grand, expensive wedding and producing lots of children. I myself had had those dreams, but now the concept left me empty and devoid.

'Concentrate, Galinda,' Elphie murmured.

I snapped out of my daydream and blinked at the textbook in front of me. We were in the library studying. I had an exam tomorrow, and she had her final scholarship one as well as an ordinary one. I shuffled in my seat and flipped the page. The words blurred in front of me. I didn't feel like I was about to take an exam. That was another girl, an ordinary school girl without the burdens of confusion and inadequacy on her shoulders. I was desperate for the holidays, so that I could relax and forget about everything for a bit.

_Well, maybe not quite everything, _I thought, glancing sideways at Elphie.

'Can't,' I murmured back.

'Yes you can.'

I returned to the textbook and re-read the same paragraph I'd been stuck on for the past half hour. Elphie's belief in me still flummoxed me, so I made an effort for her sake, but my mind would not stop drifting. The endless bookshelves surrounding us were sores to my eyes. I wished that the sight of students on their way to lessons, the long, grand corridors of Crage Hall, the dorms and lecture theatres, would disappear. I wanted my own bedroom in Frottica, where I could hide myself away from the rest of Oz – except for Elphie, of course, she could hide with me.

'You'd have to get out occasionally,' Farold had told me when I'd confessed this at my next appointment. 'You can't hide forever. You'll have to confront your feelings eventually.'

His words had made my head spin. I did not consider myself to be brave. That was Elphie's forte. She was always one for facing up to things no matter how difficult or awkward they were. On the other hand, I was continuously twisting things in my favour, to cover up an awkwardness, to present myself in a better light.

In hindsight it wasn't brave at all.

As such, I had not been able to be very direct with Elphie. I showered her with subtle hints in hope that she would catch on and say something for me. I really ought to have known better. Elphie was not experienced at matters of the heart and did not take them. I knew I should just be truthful, but for some reason the right words would elude me. Three simple words – why oh why couldn't I say them?

'Galinda,' Elphie murmured again.

'Sorry,' I mumbled.

_How in Oz does she do that?_ I thought. She hadn't even so much as glanced at me, but she'd still managed to realise I wasn't concentrating. I sneaked a peek at her. She appeared totally engrossed in her work. Her back was completely straight and her left hand lettered pages of words in neat curvatures. She had tied her hair back in a braid, to my dismay – said that it was easier to concentrate when it wasn't getting in the way. I wished she would take it down. It was so pretty down. But Elphie insisted.

_Okay, Galinda, back to work._

The library seemed to encase itself around me. Books insulted me with jeers at my lack of motivation. Shelves towered high and looked down on me. Bright chandeliers blinded my eyes and made me sleepy. In the centre of it all was Elphie, who looked completely at home here, making me feel like the oddball of the situation, sticking out like a sore thumb in this quiet, stuffy environment.

Libraries had never suited me, but they were Elphie's best friend. The setting enhanced her studious nature, gently exaggerating her angular features as she pored over pages and pages of thick volumes, absorbing their information. Her lips possessed a tiny smirk, not quite a smile, but it made her appear luminous. Her free hand traced the handle of her glasses in a relaxed manner. Her beautiful, brown eyes gazed into the books with enamour, as though the works possessed a soul.

She was so, so beautiful.

So beautiful.

I couldn't help that I edged just a tiny bit closer to her. I told myself it was because I wanted to see what she was reading, but of course the topic was something complicated which went straight over my head. She must have noticed me shift but didn't say anything. She continued to write and my eyes flickered in line with her hand movements. To think that I had once hated this strange enigma, who was the most at home when she was studying. It was so unusual and captivating.

'Galinda, please, you are casting a shadow.'

I jumped backwards, jolted out of my reverie. My cheeks were hot. I couldn't quite meet her eyes.

'Sorry, Elphie.'

Three words entered my head: _Not good enough._ I had been told by Farold to stop this train of thought, should it occur, and not allow it to take hold. I needed to change my outlook. So I attempted to push it aside, but couldn't quite forget it completely.

'You know what, let's go,' Elphie said, and I flushed guiltily, knowing I was the reason why she had given up.

_Thank Oz,_ I thought, as we put our books away. _I don't think I could bear another moment._

I made certain to stare straight ahead; else I might die of embarrassment. I was acutely aware of our closeness as we ambled outside into Shiz's beautiful grounds. The air was cold but refreshing after being inside the library. I inhaled the fresh pine scent and dropped my shoulders. When in Oz had I become so tense?

'It was way too hot in there,' I commented. 'So hot that I honestly thought I was going to melt!'

'Only the other day you were going to die of frostbite,' Elphie quipped.

'I mean, I know I said keep making me warm, but I didn't quite mean reduce me to a scalding, sweaty mess by hours of library torture,' I continued.

'I was unaware that I was doing anything other than studying.'

'_Elphie!'_ I screeched.

'Yes, my sweet?'

I huffed.

'Dense, you are, you mean green thing.'

'What did I miss this time?'

'Only what you miss every time,' I grumbled. I was getting annoyed. Could she not see what I was trying to tell her? Was she really so blind that she would continue in this manner of taking things literally? I possessed no desire to change tactics but was starting to think I had no choice.

'And what would that be?'

I stalled. So much for changing tactics. I felt myself go red and my breath grew short. I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and yet I couldn't find the words. It wasn't fear of rejection – I already knew she loved me – but somehow, it was easier to live in this state of not quite being with her, than risk opening myself to her love.

_You can't hide forever. You'll have to confront your feelings eventually._

Farold's voice resonated in my head. I hadn't realised I would have to heed his words so soon.

'My sweet?' Elphie prompted.

'I want you,' I mumbled.

'Pardon?'

I looked away, unable to bring myself to say it again. My heart was thudding furiously; my whole body trembled. Somewhere along the way we had stopped walking. I probably looked stupid just standing there, fidgeting on the spot.

_For the love of Oz, Galinda, say something!_

'My sweet, you are really going to have to speak up if I am to hear you,' said Elphie.

'I want you,' I repeated.

'You…want me?' Elphie said slowly.

'Yeah. I do. And sweet Oz, it's about time you realised it, you dense green thing! I don't know how many not so subtle little hints I have put out there, only to have you take everything I say entirely too literally! I can no longer bear it!'

The word babble had come out of nowhere. Now that it was off my chest it was suddenly easier to talk about. Elphie looked at me with a glint in her eye. Her lips curled into a slight smile.

'Well all you had to do was say so,' she responded.

'Oh, sweet Lurline!' I exclaimed. It had begun to rain.

Elphie froze.

'Run,' she said, then took off before I could say anything. We instantly ran back to the library where she barged through the doors and skidded to a halt inside. She grabbed my arm and dragged me behind a book case.

'Damn,' she muttered, raising her hands, which were uncovered. On the surface of the skin, purple spots had started to appear. The same spots were also present on her face.

'Oh my,' I said. 'Elphie, that looks bad.'

'It isn't so bad, my sweet. It was only a few drops of rain.'

I looked out of a window. It was pouring really, really hard. We were going to be hard pressed to get back to Crage Hall anytime soon, with Elphie's unusual allergy.

'Now what?'

'You go back,' Elphie said.

'No! I won't! I'm not going to leave you here, stranded!'

'Galinda, there are entire shelves full of books to keep me occupied. Do not be ridiculous.'

'Books! Elphie, what if it gets to night time and it's still raining? What in Oz are you going to do then? You might _melt_ trying to get back to our dorm! And you can't stay here in the middle of the night! That would be horrendifying!'

'Well I do not see another option. And you know that you hate libraries, so there really is no point in you staying.'

'I'll stay with you regardless,' I insisted. 'Oz, Elphie, I just confessed my feelings for you. No way am I going to allow you to follow up by abandoning me in favour of the stupid library. That would be most unromantic.'

'Galinda…'

'No. I insist.'

'Then what do you suggest we do?'

I grinned, flurries of excitement and nerves welling in my chest. I had considered the idea for a while, but had never been comfortable enough to act upon it. It had remained a vague daydream, one which I thought I could maybe consider at some point in the far future, but it had arrived rather quicker than I had expected.

'There are certain things which could be considered good rainy day activities,' I said, stepping closer to her.

Her eyes widened.

'Galinda – are you sure?'

I nodded. The building frustration of the day had worn me down. For weeks I had denied myself permission to desire her, but seeing her in the library had become all too much. I could no longer ignore my desperate need to be close to her physically.

Just for that moment, I could not remember any of the things that had happened to me, except that this gorgeous, green enigma was leaning in close, her chocolate eyes boring into mine, and I could feel tingles all over my body. Her lips, a slightly darker shade to the rest of her skin, parted into an oval pucker, full and enticing, and my own lips flushed with anticipation. Her hand made its way into my hair and yanked me forward, and I released a gasp of longing. I cupped her face, only an inch away from my own, in my hand and tilted her head towards me.

How in Oz had I denied myself this for such a long time?

The gap closed in a brush of warmth. We tentatively began our explorations with a series of light kisses. As our confidence grew we pressed into each other further. Her fingernails dragged through my hair, drawing me closer, and I captured her lower lip with my teeth. She let out a guttural moan and I licked the lip, then the upper one, silently begging her to part her mouth open and grant me entrance.

She granted my wish and I slipped my tongue inside, wrapping it around hers, basking in the soft texture and pleasant wetness. The feeling was more amazing than in my daydreams, and even the real life kisses I'd had with Fiyero. Instead of the rough hook-up I had been accustomed to, they were gentle and caring, each one as important as the last.

'You're right,' Elphie said between kisses. 'This makes…a very…entertaining…rain…activity.'

I was far too engaged to actually speak, but I giggled to let her know I'd heard. We continued in this manner for another minute, before finally breaking apart, panting heavily.

'Oh my Oz,' I gasped.

'Indeed.'

I took in her dishevelled braid and the darkened hue of her skin. She now looked even better than before, a feat which I had thought impossible. She was not a classic beauty, but her exoticness was the most delicious thing I had ever seen.

'Well it's still raining,' I said. 'I suppose we'll just have to continue until it stops.'

'That might not be for a long time, my sweet.'

'I know. All the better for me, then.'

Henceforth, we continued, oblivious to the rest of the world.


	26. Chapter 26

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 26**

**A/N: Oh my god! Thank you guys so much for all of the reviews! I think this is the most I've had for any one chapter.**

**To Guest: I wish I could reply to you, I really could. But if you should happen to read this, thank you for the constructive feedback. It is received and noted - though I will not be changing the way I characterise Fiyero in this particular fic.**

**So I was reading back through my fic. And you know when you think you're doing really really well...and then notice an inconsistency? Yeah. That happened. And I was like, oh dear, gotta fix that. So I've rewritten bits of chapters 11-13 to make them consistent with what happens later. You can reread them if you want (and try and spot what the inconsistency was and what I changed), or you can just take my word for it. Your choice.**

**99 reviews?! SO CLOSE to 100! Tell you what, let's make this a race. The next person to review will be the 100th reviewer. So, this is my proposal. The person who leaves me the 100th review will get to suggest something for the sequel. There are only 2 rules: You can't break up Gelphie, and you can't kill a main character. Anything else is fair game.**

**I think there will probably be one more chapter after this one, and then I'll go into the sequel. I'll post both at the same time to make the transition easier.**

ELPHABA

The sound of Galinda's soft breathing wafted across the room into my ears. In the darkness, my mind amplified the events of earlier. I could still taste the sweetness of her lips as they hungrily dominated mine, sending a jolt down my spine, bringing me to life with feelings I hadn't known existed.

I always assumed Nessa would be the first to be kissed. Never in my life did I imagine it would be me. I had spent my life in the harsh world of cruel judgement, meeting people who turned away with disgust at the mere sight of my skin. Not once had I been seen, not by anyone, not even by my own family. I had accepted it as my reality that I would probably never be kissed, let alone loved.

Then came Galinda. She whirled into my life and tipped my world upside down. And I ached; I ached to go to her right now and crawl into bed with her, hold her tight and never, ever let her go, because if this was what love felt like, then I never wanted to lose it.

I didn't.

Not when my mind was still cluttered with guilt. Not when I had been so horrendible that my own family had disowned me. Not when I had abandoned Nessa, my own sister, to selfishly pursue my own desires, to take back my place at Shiz even though it was because of my own actions that I'd lost it in the first place.

For all those reasons, I didn't deserve Galinda's love. How could she possibly love someone like me? How could she love the weird, green girl who had destroyed her own family, killed her mother, angered her father and abandoned her sister? Worse still, I was using Galinda to defy my own family.

I spent the night in a restless doze full of nightmares. I caught vague flashes of my family members; of Galinda; of my various misdeeds. By morning I was still exhausted, but got up anyway since I had the last scholarship exam. For a fleeting second I considered not showing up and throwing in the towel on the whole plan, but pushed the idea aside. Not only would Galinda be furious but I was far too selfish to let go of Shiz that easily.

I got dressed and then looked over to where Galinda was still fast asleep. She was curled up in a ball, clinging onto her duvet in that adorable way of hers, and her hair was sprawled messily across her pillow. I approached her bedside and gently shook her shoulder. Although she did not have an exam in the morning, I wanted to greet her before I left.

She shuffled in bed and opened one sleepy blue eye.

'Good morning, Galinda.'

'Mmmmph…morning,' she mumbled.

'I'm off to my exam now. I just thought I'd say bye before I left.'

She wriggled onto her elbows and her head and shoulders emerged properly.

'Kiss me goodbye?'

I hesitated. Galinda was looking at me expectantly with a smile that was incredibly tempting. But the idea of kissing her also made me feel guilty. I was slowly corrupting her life, turning the world against her. She was far too bright a spirit for that. She ought to be loved and cherished by everyone, not loathed because she associated with the green thing.

The cute smile won.

I leaned in and gave her a peck on the lips. She cupped my face and pulled me closer, finishing off the kiss more aggressively. Then she flashed her pearly white teeth at me and I flushed.

'Good luck in your exam,' she said.

'Thanks.'

When the exam was finished I returned to the dorm with mixed emotions. The scholarship was out of my hands now. It was up to the exam board to decide if I'd done well enough to get it. On one hand I was relieved that I no longer had to think about it, but on the other hand, I was still worried. What if I hadn't done well enough? What if I didn't get it, and was forced to leave Shiz after all?

I was caught by surprise as I opened the door. Galinda was sitting in front of her mirror, grinning at herself and giggling.

She was wearing a green wig.

'Galinda, what in Oz…'

'Do you like it?' she said.

'Um…'

She appeared completely serious. I stared at her, confused.

'I'm going to prank my parents by showing up with green hair,' she explained, and then collapsed into giggles.

'And it will be funny because…?'

'Well, you know how some people are not quite as observational as you, Elphie,' she said, once she managed to collect herself. 'They won't think this is a wig. They'll see me and they'll think I've dyed my hair _green!'_ She collapsed into giggles again.

I was tempted to put down the idea. It was stupid. No one was that unobservant. Of course they would realise it was a wig. But I felt a surge of happiness at Galinda's excitement at the prospect of seeing her parents. She had not been this happy for a while, so I decided to let it go and allow her to carry out the prank.

'One more exam,' Galinda sighed. 'One more, and then we can go home tomorrow.'

'More like, one more exam and then you can cease to use that beautiful, blonde brain of yours.'

'Hey!'

'You know it's true.'

'I'm not stupid, you know,' she huffed. 'I do, in fact, possess the intelligence of quite ordinary, unstupid people. But of course, you are so beyond that level that we mortals are far inferior.'

Knowing how to talk to Galinda was proving more difficult than I'd thought. It seemed that, these days, any sort of disparaging comment could be taken as an insult. The days where our harsh criticisms had once been affectionate banter seemed like a distant memory. Now it felt like I was treading on egg shells. I had to temper myself a lot more, force myself to not assert my wit as I was so used to doing, because the wrong word or phrase might send Galinda over the edge.

'I'm sorry, my sweet, I didn't mean it like that.'

'Of course not.'

She removed the wig and her creamy curls emerged into existence.

'Ugh, these things do awful things to my hair,' she sighed, and grabbed her hair brush. I didn't think the action made much difference – the hair was so beautiful already that there was little to be done – but said nothing. In truth I was captivated by the smooth stroke of the brush through those golden locks and the slight smile that appeared as she indulged her fondness for outward beauty. I stood still for about ten minutes while she worked on her hair and fixed her make-up.

'Beautiful,' I muttered, as she adorned her pout with lip gloss.

'Hmm?'

I came up behind her and nestled my head in the crook of her neck.

'Beautiful,' I murmured into her ear and she smiled briefly.

'That makes one of us who thinks so,' she responded, and I felt chills at the hollowness of her tone.


	27. Chapter 27

**Moment of Weakness - Chapter 27**

**A/N: Last chapter, guys! I feel so proud - this is the longest fic I've ever written. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's stuck by it and reviewed each chapter. They all mean the world to me and make me a very happy, inspired and motivated writer.**

**I am posting this chapter at the same time as the first chapter of the sequel, 'Overcoming Adversity' so when you've finished this one, go and find it and read it.**

**Thank you again. I can't believe I've finished it! And gotten over 100 reviews!**

GALINDA

'Thank goodness! Those bags were far too heavy!' I exclaimed, as Elphie and I boarded the carriage.

Her face contained the tiniest bit of a smirk that I did not miss even though she was clearly trying to hide it. I could read the unspoken words of 'Then you shouldn't have brought so much stuff' on her almost stoic face. A girl needed belongings, and how Elphie got away with possessing so few was beyond me. Thankfully I would have Lurlinemas to sort her out properly and see to it that she gained a few things I thought she desperately required – such as new clothes. And probably underwear. I quickly quelled that thought, as it brought images of Elphie in sexy lingerie to the front of my mind.

'I am so happy it's the holidays,' I sighed.

'I am happy that you're happy,' Elphie replied.

'But are you not also happy that it is the holidays? You're going to love Frottica! It's a lovely place, full of shops and salons – oh, and you'll meet my momsie as well!'

'Shops and salons, hm? I can see why you would enjoy it so much.'

'Yes but Elphie, you can't not be excited about it! Everyone loves the holidays. They're the best times of year because you don't have to study and you're with your fam…'

I trailed off, realising the implications. Of course Elphie wouldn't be happy about the holidays.

'My sweet, I will be very glad to meet your mother, and to accompany you on whatever pursuits you desire this Lurlinemas, but forgive me for not leaping with joy the same way you are. This time last year I was pushing Nessa around the shops in Munchkinland, helping her find the perfect gift for father.'

We settled into an uncomfortable silence. I gazed out of the window, willing away the scenery so that we might arrive at Frottica quickly. The grey and drizzly sky cast a shadow of gloom over Oz. Small pitter patters lightly hit the carriage's window.

_What dreadful weather to return home in._

But still, it would be home, and I was lucky to have one.

At some point during the journey I fumbled around in my carry-on bag for the green wig and began to fix it to my head. Elphie watched me with a baffled expression.

_It matches her skin,_ I thought, as the green hairs fell across my face. _It is the prettiest shade of green in all of Oz._

But still, the silence made me squirm in my seat. I huffed and folded my arms. The green wig felt odd against my face: It was straight and much shorter than my natural hair length. The journey was taking a long time and I dreaded the idea of waiting it out without some form of engagement. I should have been more vigilant before, about Elphie's family, and then I wouldn't be in this position.

'You know, it's awfully boring when two of us are sitting in a private carriage together and not engaging in any form of social activity,' I said.

'Would you like to talk about something, my sweet?'

'I would very much like to talk, but not if I am to dig myself into a corner where the holidays are concerned. I feel that I have offended you with my words, and that is a most dreadful thing to happen right before we arrive in Frottica.'

'Galinda, I am not offended,' she responded. 'I am truly glad you are excited to see your family. I couldn't expect any less from you.'

'Then why do you ignore me so?'

'I am not ignoring you, merely being lost in my thoughts. But if you would like my attention, you have it, my sweet.'

'Really?'

'Of course.'

'No matter what time of day or night? No matter how ridiculous it is? I know I'm a pain and superficial and I ramble on too much, but…'

'My sweet, you have my attention no matter what. Okay? Satisfied?'

I fell back into silence once again, feeling stung.

'I'm sorry,' I said. 'You're here for me and I'm just being really whiny and needy and stuff.'

My original excitement had disappeared. I sat nervously in my seat, occasionally glancing across at Elphie. In all my enthusiasm I had forgotten her situation. If anything I was supposed to be there for her, during _her_ time of need. But I had gotten caught up and started thinking of myself too much.

My eyes welled. Why couldn't I seem to change? Why was I never good enough?

'My sweet, come here,' said Elphie. I moved across so that I was next to her. She wrapped an arm around me and I leaned into her chest. 'You know, your superficial ramblings are one of the most adorable things about you.'

'But I thought you hated them.'

'Well they can be frightfully irritating at times. But that's one of the things that make you Galinda, and you would be an empty shell without them.'

'Are you implying I am full of nothing but irritating rambles?'

'Of course not, my sweet. You are full of interesting things.'

'Like what?'

'Like the way you bound up the stairs and do a little hop at the top without noticing. And the way your face changes when you are thinking hard about something, because believe it or not, you do think occasionally. And the way you give yourself freely and spontaneously to things that other people might find silly, but you do them without a hint of fear or embarrassment.'

'Well that is a far nicer description than the previous one.'

She kissed the top of my head. A spread of warmth passed through my stomach. The excited flutters were returning, to my relief. I could begin to look forward to Frottica once again.

'You'll love my momsie.'

'If she's anything like you, I think I'll like her plenty,' Elphie agreed.

I leaned up and nipped her on the jaw.

'Then it's a good thing you no longer hate me.'

'That is a good thing indeed. Though 'hate' may be a bit too strong a word.'

'Oh look! We've arrived in Frottica!'

I pressed my face into the window and stared outside at the familiar scenery, feeling intense flutters of joy and excitement. It was as if I'd never left. Shiz seemed an entirely different life from this one, a distant memory that I could almost trick myself into thinking was imaginary. Unlike Shiz, which was a prominent student area (admittedly a very high profile one), Frottica was of far higher calibre, full of quirky boutiques and restaurants so favoured by the upper class youth of Gillikin. I anticipated endless shopping trips, meeting with old friends and outdoor tea parties.

'Just think. We can eat real food,' I sighed.

'I was unaware that the food at Shiz was fake,' Elphie retorted.

'I mean that the food in Frottica actually tastes edible.'

'You say that as though the food at Shiz was bad. It's actually pretty decent in comparison to most places.'

'Yes, well, I suppose.'

The carriage drew to a stop. Immediately I rose from my seat and skipped to the doorway, with Elphie in tow.

I looked between Elphie and the outside of the carriage. Today was a bringing together of the old and new: My old life in Frottica, and new relationship with Elphie; the old superficial version of me who had left for university, and the newly discovered, better learned girl who had returned. I sent Elphie a smile. It was good to be home.

**A/N: REMINDER: Now go and read the first chapter of the sequel, 'Overcoming Adversity'. :)**


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